Single-cell transcriptomic characterization of vertebrate brain composition, development, and function

Abstract

A fundamental effort in neuroscience is to identify and characterize the building blocks of the central nervous system. Starting from the early days of the field, researchers have classified brain cells into types based on cellular morphology, electrical properties, connectivity patterns and molecular characteristics. Recent advances in molecular techniques, DNA sequencing, and computational power have enabled high-throughput molecular characterization of individual cells through the use of single-cell RNA-sequencing. This chapter reviews the general notion of cell types in the brain, and then outlines methods to select, isolate, and profile individual cells using single-cell RNA-sequencing. Also included is an overview of analysis methods to define putative types from single-cell RNA-sequencing data, and additional methods to link these data to other modalities in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the basic components of the central nervous system.