In a landmark achievement funded by the NIH BRAIN Initiative, neuroscientists have comprehensively mapped the basal ganglia—the deep brain region responsible for turning thoughts into physical actions and regulating movement, reward, and learning. Published on November 12, the cellular atlas catalogs the exact genetic identities, spatial locations, and developmental trajectories of millions of individual brain cells. Researchers say this high-resolution blueprint unlocks crucial insights into how circuit disruptions trigger neurological and psychiatric conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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