(6/10) You can interactively explore our data at research.libd.org/spatial_NAc/... 💻 🔓 #opendata

(5/10) We illustrate the importance of spatial transcriptomics in understanding cell-cell communication, and identify spatial domains that express PENK, PDYN (ligands) and OPRM1 (receptor), and delineate the spatial distribution of their corresponding predicted sender and receiver cell types.

(4/10) We examine heterogeneity in D1 islands using complementary computational methods, such as matrix factorization and cell type deconvolution, as well as experimental techniques like RNAscope smFISH.

(3/10) Additionally, we show that human NAc organization is not simply divided into “core” and “shell,” but instead reflects continuous spatial gradients of MSN subtypes linked to genetic risk for psychiatric and addiction-related traits.

(2/10) We identify 20 transcriptionally distinct cell types, including 6 subtypes of medium spiny neurons (MSNs), and 8 spatial domains conserved across species, including distinct OPRM1-expressing D1-islands, corresponding to opioid hotspots previously described in rodents and non-human primates.

(1/10) We’re excited to share our new preprint (doi.org/10.1101/2025...), which uncovers the spatiomolecular landscape of the human nucleus accumbens (NAc), by integrating snRNA-seq with Visium spatial transcriptomics across 10 control donors. 🧠 #NAcLIBD #snRNAseq #10xVisium