The human brain undergoes protracted postnatal maturation, guided by dynamic changes in gene expression. Most studies exploring these processes have used bulk tissue analyses, which mask cell-type-specific gene expression dynamics. Here, using single-nucleus RNA sequencing on temporal lobe tissue, including samples of African ancestry, we build a joint pediatric and adult atlas of 75 cell subtypes, which we verify with spatial transcriptomics. We explore the differences between pediatric and adult cell subtypes, revealing the genes and pathways that change during brain maturation. Our results highlight excitatory neuron subtypes, including the LTK and FREM subtypes, that show elevated expression of genes associated with cognition and synaptic plasticity in pediatric tissue. The resources we present here improve our understanding of the brain during its development and contribute to global efforts to build an inclusive brain cell map.

人脑在基因表达动态变化的引导下经历漫长的出生后成熟。大多数探索这些过程的研究都使用了大块组织分析，它掩盖了细胞类型特异性基因表达动力学。在这里，对颞叶组织（包括非洲血统的样本）进行单核 RNA 测序，我们构建了一个包含 75 种细胞亚型的儿科和成人联合图谱，并通过空间转录组学进行验证。我们探讨了儿科和成体细胞亚型之间的差异，揭示了大脑成熟过程中发生变化的基因和通路。我们的结果突出了兴奋性神经元亚型，包括 LTK 和 FREM 亚型，它们显示儿科组织中与认知和突触可塑性相关的基因表达升高。我们在这里提供的资源可以提高我们对大脑发育过程中的理解，并为构建包容性脑细胞图谱的全球努力做出贡献。