Applied to the entire 911 sample set from Brain 1, genes were grouped into well-defined co-expression modules with specific anatomical distributions (Fig. 3a, b), consistent with previous studies in brain tissues18, 19. Gene modules were frequently related to primary neural cell types and molecular functions (Fig. 3b, c). Several modules identify genes with enriched expression in neurons (M1–M2), based on overlap with neural-cell-type-enriched gene sets identified in previous studies18 (second row in Fig. 3b). Genes in these modules are enriched in the neocortex (fifth row in Fig. 3b), and in particular cortical divisions as shown in eigengene plots (Fig. 3c). Hub genes and enriched GO terms for these modules are associated with neuronal structure and function and energy metabolism, as might be expected given the high metabolic demands of neurons (Supplementary Table 4). Other modules showed subcortical enrichment and correspond to expression in different types of glia (M8–M12), including microglia, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes.
