The Synaptome Architecture of the Brain

Synapses—the junctions between nerve cells—are fundamental to brain function, underpinning behaviours such as learning and memory. They are also sites of disruption in hundreds of neurological and psychiatric disorders, and key targets of both therapeutic and illicit drugs. Synaptic function is determined by their protein composition, and substantial molecular diversity exists between different synapse types. This diversity, known as the synaptome, is spatially organised across brain regions, forming the synaptome architecture of the brain. Our research employs advanced synaptome mapping technologies to measure the molecular composition and structural features of billions of individual synapses in the human and mouse brain. The resulting datasets form comprehensive reference atlases and are made available through this repository as a resource for the neuroscience community.