An opposing molecular gradient axis underlies primate cortical organization
The principles organizing cellular diversity and connectivity in primate brains remain elusive. By integrating spatial transcriptomics, magnetic resonance imaging, and retrograde labeling in marmosets, we identified two opposing molecular gradients that undergo postnatal refinement, emanating from allocortices and primary sensory cortices, respectively. These gradients reconcile conflicting hypotheses on cortical expansion and characterize distinct cortical areas. Cortical gradients align with thalamic gene expression and thalamocortical projection patterns. At gradient intersections, the default mode network and frontal pole exhibited similar molecular features in humans and marmosets, despite species-specific differences in functional connectivity. Comparative analysis of gradient-related genes showed that marmoset and human auditory cortices are highly similar but differ from those of macaques, potentially reflecting complex vocalization. Together, these opposing gradients represent a fundamental organizing principle of the primate cortex.
Authors
- Wei Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5643-8739)
- Marcello G. P. Rosa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6620-6285)
- Cirong Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7986-4615)
- Chengyu Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6829-0209)
- Shenglong Li
- Nafiseh Atapour (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8773-9283)
- Piotr Majka (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9055-8686)
- Yafeng Zhan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3869-4592)
- Xiaoyu Wei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9592-3083)
- Tao Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4211-5183)
- Yan Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1353-1375)
- Y W Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4420-5708)
- Yong‐Gang Yao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2955-0693)
- Muming Poo
- Youning Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0047-026X)
- Longqi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5828-5542)
- Chao Li
- Zhiming Shen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4560-7650)
- Xun Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5338-5173)
- He Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2498-4526)
- Zhen Liu
- Shaojie Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8782-3047)
- Zhifeng Liang
- Haichao Qu
- Luman Cui
- Jixuan Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0217-7967)
- Xiaojia Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7997-3299)
- Shiping Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0019-619X)
Institutions
- Instytut Biologii Doświadczalnej im. Marcelego Nenckiego (PL)
- Kunming Institute of Zoology (CN)
- Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (AU)
- Brain Mapping Foundation (US)
- ShanghaiTech University (CN)
- Shanghai Genon Biological Products (China) (CN)
- Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering (CN)
- Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- BGI Research (CN)
- Monash University (AU)
- University of Hong Kong (HK)
- South China University of Technology (CN)
- Polish Academy of Sciences (PL)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2026-04-16
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aea2673
- Primary Topic
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- National Key Research and Development Program of China