Using an atlas-based approach in the analysis of gene expression maps obtained by voxelation

Abstract

The integration of gene expression datasets with gene function information provides valuable insights in unraveling the molecular mechanisms of the brain. In this paper, gene expression maps, acquired by the technique of voxelation, are analyzed using an atlas-based framework and the extracted spatial information is employed to organize genes in significant clusters. Moreover, gene function enrichment analysis of clusters enables exploring the relationships among brain regions, gene expressions and gene functions. Our work confirms the hypothesis that genes of similar spatial expression patterns display similar functions indicating that our methodology could assist in the functional identification of unannotated genes. © 2012 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.