Researchers have identified a distinct and reproducible gene expression program associated with neurotransmission in the living human brain, offering unprecedented insight into the molecular mechanisms that support human cognition, emotion, and behavior. The findings were published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Neurotransmission—the electrical and chemical signaling between neurons—is fundamental to all brain function. Until now, most gene expression studies of the human brain have relied on postmortem tissue, limiting scientists’ ability to understand which genes are actively involved in real-time neuronal communication.

In this study, investigators integrated gene expression profiling from the prefrontal cortex with direct intracranial measures of neurotransmission collected from the brains of more than 100 individuals as they underwent neurosurgical procedures. By combining molecular data with real-time physiological recordings, the team identified a coordinated set of genes whose activity tracks with neuronal signaling—a transcriptional program associated with neurotransmission.