Regional and strain-specific gene expression mapping in the adult mouse brain

To determine the genetic causes and molecular mechanisms responsible for ne urobehavioral differences in mice, we used highly parallel gene expression profiling to detect genes that are differentially expressed between the 129 SvEv and C57BL/6 mouse strains at baseline and in response to seizure. In a ddition, we identified genes that are differentially expressed in specific brain regions. We found that approximately 1% of expressed genes are differ entially expressed between strains in at least one region of the brain and that the gene expression response to seizure is significantly different bet ween the two inbred strains. The results lead to the identification of diff erences in gene expression that may account for distinct phenotypes in inbr ed strains and the unique functions of specific brain regions.