HCA Data Portal

Human Brain Cell Atlas v1.0

A first draft atlas of human brain transcriptomic cell types

Atlas Description

The human brain directs a wide range of complex behaviors ranging from fine motor skills to abstract intelligence and emotion. This broad range of functions is supported by an exceptionally complex cellular and circuit architecture. To create a first draft human brain cell atlas, high-throughput single-nucleus RNA sequencing was used to systematically survey cells across the entire adult human brain in three postmortem donors. Over three million nuclei were sampled from approximately 100 dissections across the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain. Analysis of these data showed regional diversity in cellular organization at multiple scales, identifying 30 superclusters, 461 clusters, and 3313 subclusters. As the first single-cell transcriptomic census of the entire human brain, this atlas provides a resource for understanding the molecular diversity of the human brain in health and disease.

The Human Brain Cell Atlas v1.0 is presented for visualization and data mining through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s CELLxGENE application, with the following biologically meaningful partitions:

  1. Neuronal and non-neuronal cell types
  2. Supercluster-specific groupings
  3. Brain region-specific groupings, ordered by the adult human brain anatomical reference atlas ontology in Ding et al. (2016)
Component Atlases
Atlas NameTissueDiseaseCellsExploreDownload

All neurons

10 tissues
normal
2.5M

All non-neuronal cells

10 tissues
normal
888.3k

Supercluster: Oligodendrocyte

10 tissues
normal
490.2k

Supercluster: Upper-layer intratelencephalic

9 tissues
normal
455.0k

Supercluster: Splatter

10 tissues
normal
291.8k

Supercluster: Deep-layer intratelencephalic

8 tissues
normal
228.5k

Supercluster: CGE interneuron

9 tissues
normal
227.7k

Supercluster: MGE interneuron

9 tissues
normal
222.4k

Supercluster: Astrocyte

10 tissues
normal
155.0k

Supercluster: Medium spiny neuron

7 tissues
normal
152.2k

Supercluster: Upper rhombic lip

10 tissues
normal
137.2k

Supercluster: Midbrain-derived inhibitory

10 tissues
normal
126.8k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Precentral gyrus (PrCG) - Primary motor cortex - M1C

cerebral cortex

normal
116.6k

Supercluster: Amygdala excitatory

7 tissues
normal
109.5k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Middle Temporal Gyrus - MTG

cerebral cortex

normal
107.3k

Supercluster: Oligodendrocyte precursor

10 tissues
normal
105.7k

Supercluster: Microglia

10 tissues
normal
91.8k

Supercluster: Thalamic excitatory

6 tissues
normal
85.5k

Supercluster: Deep-layer corticothalamic and 6b

6 tissues
normal
78.4k

Supercluster: Hippocampal CA1-3

6 tissues
normal
75.0k

Dissection: Cerebellum (CB) - Cerebellar Vermis - CBV

cerebellum

normal
71.9k

Supercluster: Hippocampal dentate gyrus

4 tissues
normal
67.5k

Dissection: Midbrain (M) - Substantia Nigra - SN

midbrain

normal
59.5k

Dissection: Tail of Hippocampus (HiT) - Caudal Hippocampus - CA4-DGC

hippocampal formation

normal
56.4k

Supercluster: Lower rhombic lip

8 tissues
normal
52.6k

Dissection: Cerebellum (CB) - Cerebellar deep nuclei - CbDN

cerebellum

normal
52.0k

Dissection: Basal nuclei (BN) - Globus pallidus (GP) - External segment of globus pallidus - GPe

cerebral nuclei

normal
50.8k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Anterior parahippocampal gyrus, posterior part (APH) - Medial entorhinal cortex - MEC

cerebral cortex

normal
50.4k

Dissection: Pons (Pn) - Pontine reticular formation - PnRF

pons

normal
49.5k

Dissection: Midbrain (M) - Substantia Nigra, Red Nucleus, and nearby nuclei - SN-RN

midbrain

normal
49.1k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - posterior nuclear complex of thalamus (PoN) - lateral geniculate nucleus (LG)

thalamic complex

normal
48.9k

Dissection: Pons (Pn) - efferent nuclei of cranial nerves in pons - PnEN

pons

normal
47.4k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - lateral nuclear complex of thalamus (LNC) - Pulvinar of thalamus - Pul

thalamic complex

normal
46.5k

Supercluster: LAMP5-LHX6 and Chandelier

8 tissues
normal
45.1k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Parietal operculum (PaO) - Gustatory cortex - A43

cerebral cortex

normal
42.8k

Dissection: Amygdaloid complex (AMY) - Central nuclear group - CEN

cerebral nuclei

normal
42.7k

Dissection: Head of hippocampus (HiH) - Tail of Hippocampus (HiT) - Subicular cortex - Sub

hippocampal formation

normal
41.6k

Dissection: Basal forebrain (BF) - septal nuclei - SEP

cerebral nuclei

normal
40.8k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Posterior parahippocampal gyrus (PPH) - TH-TL

cerebral cortex

normal
40.7k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Superior Temporal Gyrus - STG

cerebral cortex

normal
40.6k

Dissection: Body of hippocampus (HiB) - Rostral DG-CA4

hippocampal formation

normal
40.2k

Dissection: Claustrum - Cla

cerebral nuclei

normal
40.2k

Supercluster: Eccentric medium spiny neuron

6 tissues
normal
40.1k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Long insular gyri (LIG) - Dysgranular insular cortex - Idg

cerebral cortex

normal
39.7k

Dissection: Head of hippocampus (HiH) - Uncal CA1

hippocampal formation

normal
39.1k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Supramarginal gyrus (SMG) - A40

cerebral cortex

normal
39.1k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Short insular gyri - Granular insular cortex - Ig

cerebral cortex

normal
38.9k

Dissection: Amygdaloid complex (AMY) - corticomedial nuclear group - CMN

cerebral nuclei

normal
38.3k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) - Ventrolateral prefrontal cortex - A44-A45

cerebral cortex

normal
38.3k

Dissection: Basal forebrain (BF) - substantia innominata and nearby nuclei - SI

cerebral nuclei

normal
38.2k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Postcentral gyrus (PoCG) - Primary somatosensory cortex - S1C

cerebral cortex

normal
38.2k

Dissection: Head of hippocampus (HiH) - Uncal CA1-CA3

hippocampal formation

normal
37.9k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Subcallosal Gyrus (SCG) - Subgenual (subcallosal) division of MFC - A25

cerebral cortex

normal
37.8k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Temporal pole (TP) - Temporopolar area - A38

cerebral cortex

normal
37.6k

Dissection: Paleocortex (PalCx) - Piriform cortex - Pir

cerebral cortex

normal
36.9k

Dissection: Tail of Hippocampus (HiT) - Caudal Hippocampus - CA1-CA3

hippocampal formation

normal
36.9k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Caudal cingulate gyrus (CgGC) - A23

cerebral cortex

normal
35.4k

Dissection: Head of hippocampus (HiH) - Uncal DG-CA4

hippocampal formation

normal
35.4k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Supraparietal lobule (SPL) - Posterosuperior (dorsal) parietal cortex - A5-A7

cerebral cortex

normal
35.3k

Dissection: Amygdaloid complex (AMY) - basolateral nuclear group (BLN) - basolateral nucleus (basal nucleus) - BL

cerebral nuclei

normal
35.3k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Frontal agranular insular cortex - FI

cerebral cortex

normal
34.9k

Dissection: Extended amygdala (EXA) - Bed nucleus of stria terminalis and nearby - BNST

cerebral nuclei

normal
34.9k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Posterior intermediate orbital gyrus (POrG) - Caudal division of OFCi - A13

cerebral cortex

normal
34.9k

Dissection: Basal nuclei (BN) - Putamen - Pu

cerebral nuclei

normal
34.4k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Cingulate gyrus, retrosplenial (CgGrs) - A29-A30

cerebral cortex

normal
34.1k

Dissection: Basal nuclei (BN) - Globus pallidus (GP) - Internal segment of globus pallidus - GPi

cerebral nuclei

normal
34.0k

Dissection: Midbrain (M) - Periaqueductal gray and nearby nuclei - PAG

midbrain

normal
33.8k

Dissection: Pons (Pn) - Pontine Nucleus - PN

pons

normal
33.6k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Lingual gyrus (LiG) - Primary Visual Cortex - V1C

cerebral cortex

normal
33.5k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Transverse temporal gyrus (TTG) - Primary auditory cortex - A1C

cerebral cortex

normal
32.8k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Anterior parahippocampal gyrus (AG) - Lateral entorhinal cortex - LEC

cerebral cortex

normal
32.7k

Dissection: Basal nuclei (BN) - Body of the Caudate - CaB

cerebral nuclei

normal
32.7k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Cuneus, caudal part - Peristriate Cortex - V2

cerebral cortex

normal
32.6k

Dissection: Midbrain (M) - Inferior colliculus and nearby nuclei - IC

midbrain

normal
32.3k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Cingulate gyrus, rostral (CgGr) - Ventral division of MFC - A24

cerebral cortex

normal
32.2k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Occipitotemporal (fusiform) gyrus, temporal part (FuGt) - Temporal area TF

cerebral cortex

normal
31.9k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - Anterior nuclear complex - ANC

thalamic complex

normal
31.3k

Dissection: Paleocortex (PalCx) - Anterior Olfactory Nucleus - AON

cerebral cortex

normal
31.2k

Dissection: Amygdaloid complex (AMY) - basolateral nuclear group (BLN) - basomedial nucleus (accessory basal nucleus) - BM

cerebral nuclei

normal
31.1k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Middle frontal gyrus (MFG) - A46

cerebral cortex

normal
31.1k

Dissection: Basal nuclei (BN) - Nucleus Accumbens - NAC

cerebral nuclei

normal
30.1k

Dissection: Midbrain (M) - Superior colliculus and nearby nuclei - SC

midbrain

normal
29.9k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Superior occipital gyrus (SOG) - Areas 19 and MT - A19

cerebral cortex

normal
29.7k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Inferior temporal gyrus - ITG

cerebral cortex

normal
29.5k

Dissection: Amygdaloid complex (AMY) - Basolateral nuclear group (BLN) - lateral nucleus - La

cerebral nuclei

normal
29.0k

Dissection: Body of hippocampus (HiB) - Rostral CA1-CA3

hippocampal formation

normal
28.7k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - mammillary region of HTH (HTHma) - mammillary nucleus - MN

hypothalamus

normal
28.2k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Cuneus, rostral part - Area Prostriata - Pro

cerebral cortex

normal
28.1k

Dissection: Cerebellum (CB) - Lateral hemisphere of cerebellum - CBL

cerebellum

normal
28.0k

Dissection: Myelencephalon (medulla oblongata) (Mo) - afferent nuclei of cranial nerves in medulla oblongata - MoAN

myelencephalon

normal
27.2k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - Lateral nuclear complex of thalamus (LNC) - ventral group of lateral nucleus - VLN

thalamic complex

normal
27.1k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - lateral nuclear complex of thalamus (LNC) - lateral posterior nucleus of thalamus - LP

thalamic complex

normal
26.2k

Dissection: Pons (Pn) - other nuclei in pontine tegmentum (XPnTg) - dorsal tegmental nucleus - DTg

pons

normal
26.1k

Dissection: Midbrain (M) - Pretectal region - PTR

midbrain

normal
25.9k

Supercluster: Miscellaneous

10 tissues
normal
25.1k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Rostral gyrus (RoG) - Dorsal division of MFC - A32

cerebral cortex

normal
24.8k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - intralaminar nuclear complex (ILN) - posterior group of intralaminar nuclei (PILN) - centromedian and parafasicular nuclei - CM and Pf

thalamic complex

normal
24.4k

Dissection: Epithalamus - ETH

thalamic complex

normal
24.3k

Dissection: Spinal cord - SpC

spinal cord

normal
24.2k

Dissection: Pons (Pn) - Pontine reticular formation (PnRF) - parabrachial nuclei - PB

pons

normal
24.2k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Perirhinal gyrus (PRG) - A35-A36

cerebral cortex

normal
23.7k

Dissection: Pons (Pn) - afferent nuclei of cranial nerves in pons - PnAN

pons

normal
23.3k

Dissection: Myelencephalon (medulla oblongata) (Mo) - medullary reticular formation (MoRF) & efferent nuclei of cranial nerves in the medulla oblongata (MoEN) - MoRF-MoEN

myelencephalon

normal
23.1k

Dissection: Myelencephalon (medulla oblongata) (Mo) - precerebellar nuclei (PrCbN) - inferior olive - IO

myelencephalon

normal
21.5k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - medial nuclear complex of thalamus (MNC) - mediodorsal nucleus of thalamus - MD

thalamic complex

normal
20.9k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - Subthalamic nucleus and nearby - STH

thalamic complex

normal
20.2k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - preoptic region of HTH - HTHpo (medial preoptic nucleus, MPN) - supraoptic region of HTH - HTHso (paraventricular nucleus, PV)

hypothalamus

normal
20.0k

Supercluster: Deep-layer near-projecting

6 tissues
normal
18.9k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - mammillary region of HTH (HTHma) - tuberal region of HTH - HTHtub

hypothalamus

normal
18.7k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - lateral nuclear complex of thalamus (LNC) - lateral posterior nucleus of thalamus + ventral posterior lateral nucleus - LP + VPL

thalamic complex

normal
17.7k

Dissection: Perirhinal cortex (area 35) (A35) - rostral subdivision of area 35 - A35r

cerebral cortex

normal
17.5k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - supraoptic region of HTH - HTHso (anterior hypothalamic nucleus, AHN) - tuberal region of HTH - HTHtub (ventromedial and dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleic nuclei, VMH, DMH)

hypothalamus

normal
16.8k

Supercluster: Mammillary body

5 tissues
normal
16.6k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - preoptic region of HTH - HTHpo

hypothalamus

normal
15.0k

Supercluster: Cerebellar inhibitory

9 tissues
normal
14.4k

Dissection: Cerebral cortex (Cx) - Gyrus rectus (ReG) - Medial orbitofrontal cortex - A14

cerebral cortex

normal
14.4k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - posterior nuclear complex of thalamus (PoN) - medial geniculate nuclei (MG)

thalamic complex

normal
14.2k

Dissection: Midbrain (M) - Periaqueductal gray and Dorsal raphe nucleus - PAG-DR

midbrain

normal
14.1k

Dissection: Myelencephalon (medulla oblongata) (Mo) - sensory relay nuclei in medulla oblongata - MoSR

myelencephalon

normal
13.6k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - medial nuclear complex of thalamus (MNC) - mediodorsal nucleus of thalamus + reuniens nucleus (medioventral nucleus) of thalamus - MD + Re

thalamic complex

normal
13.4k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - tuberal region of hypothalamus - HTHtub

hypothalamus

normal
13.2k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - intralaminar nuclear complex (ILN) - posterior group of intralaminar nuclei (PILN) - centromedian nucleus of thalamus - CM

thalamic complex

normal
12.9k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - supraoptic region of HTH - HTHso

hypothalamus

normal
12.6k

Dissection: Head of hippocampus (HiH) - Uncal CA2-CA3

hippocampal formation

normal
12.5k

Dissection: Body of hippocampus (HiB) - Rostral CA1-2

hippocampal formation

normal
11.3k

Dissection: Amygdaloid complex (AMY) - Corticomedial nuclear group (CMN) - anterior cortical nucleus - CoA

cerebral nuclei

normal
10.8k

Supercluster: Hippocampal CA4

5 tissues
normal
10.7k

Dissection: Hypothalamus (HTH) - mammillary region of HTH (HTHma)

hypothalamus

normal
10.1k

Supercluster: Vascular

10 tissues
normal
9.9k

Supercluster: Fibroblast

10 tissues
normal
9.2k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - Lateral nuclear complex (LNC) - ventral anterior nucleus of thalamus - VA

thalamic complex

normal
8.6k

Dissection: Body of hippocampus (HiB) - Rostral CA3

hippocampal formation

normal
8.1k

Supercluster: Bergmann glia

8 tissues
normal
8.0k

Supercluster: Choroid plexus

10 tissues
normal
7.7k

Dissection: Thalamus (THM) - lateral nuclear complex of thalamus (LNC) - ventral posterior lateral nucleus - VPL

thalamic complex

normal
6.9k

Supercluster: Ependymal

10 tissues
normal
5.9k

Supercluster: Committed oligodendrocyte precursor

10 tissues
normal
4.7k

Dissection: Midbrain (RN) - Red Nucleus - RN

midbrain

normal
4.7k

HCA Biological Network Atlases

Integration Lead

Kimberly Silettikimberly.siletti@ki.se

Network Coordinators

Ed LeinEvan MacoskoMike Hawrylycznervous@humancellatlas.org
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