Ontogenetic study of gene expression in human cerebral cortex tissue using genome-wide microarray

In this study we sought to examine gene expression in the cerebral cortex during development in the context of adaptive plasticity. In order to do this we introduced an approach designed to discriminate genes with variable as opposed to uniform patterns of gene expression and found that greater inter-individual variance is observed among children than among adults. RNA was extracted from surgically resected control (e.g., electrophysiologically inactive) tissues taken primarily from the temporal lobe. Individuals sampled ranged from age 10 months old to 53 years old. Gene expression data were collected using a genome-wide microarray [Illumina Human HT-12v3 chip].