Mesoscale molecular architecture of the striatum across cell types and adult aging.

Slide-tags single-nucleus spatial transcriptomics mapped the human striatum into six molecularly distinct zones, each marked by specific SPN populations and coordinated neuron–astrocyte networks.

• Why it matters: The striatum’s functional territories lack clear cytoarchitectural boundaries, limiting how molecular cell types relate to spatial organization, connectivity, and adult aging.
• What they did: The study profiled 1.1 million cells from 19 postmortem donors, built a companion mouse spatial atlas with four homologous zones, then transferred zonal identities onto a 131-donor snRNA-seq cohort.
• The result: Zonal identity imputation showed dorsal zones have the greatest age-related transcriptional change, and the expression differences defining zonation attenuate with age.

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