{
  "abstract": "Much of our mechanistic understanding of cortical development and neurodevelopmental disorders comes from studies in mice, yet translating these insights to humans rests on a fundamental assumption: that the cortex is organized according to conserved principles across species. Here, by independently decomposing human and mouse cortical transcriptomes, we test this assumption and identify a shared organizational axis extending from limbic anterior ventral (AV) to primary sensory posterior dorsal (PD) cortex. This axis aligns with conserved variation in cell-type composition, thalamocortical connectivity, myelination and excitation-inhibition balance. Its spatial topology emerges by mid-gestation and is progressively refined while remaining stable in orientation across subsequent development. What varies systematically along the axis is developmental timing: AV-enriched genes preferentially retained earlier cortical-construction features and progressively decline after birth, whereas PD-enriched genes preferentially reflected later maturation processes and progressively increased, with developmental rates graded along the axis. Across genetically distinct autism mouse models, developmental dysregulation converged on this axis, following a shared pattern that generally intensified toward the PD pole. The same axis also organized genotype-specific patterns of cortical volume alteration, while human autism risk genes showed corresponding enrichment along this transcriptional coordinate. Overall, we identify a conserved transcriptional axis that links cortical architecture to developmental timing and organizes the heterogeneous cortical effects of autism-associated mutations.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Science"
  ],
  "article_type": "New results",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 7,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "S. Huang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. Peng"
    },
    {
      "name": "X. Tian"
    },
    {
      "name": "C. Dong"
    },
    {
      "name": "T. Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Y. Shi"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "A. Li"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ev6s482rg2etc.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.64898/2026.09.05.749572",
  "fulltext_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.05.749572v1.full",
  "id": "ev6s482rg2etc",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.05.749572v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "biorxiv",
      "neuroscience"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7212150785",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.05.749572v1.full.pdf",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-09-05",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ev6s482rg2etc.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:56Z",
      "native_id": "10.64898/2026.09.05.749572",
      "source": "biorxiv",
      "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.05.749572v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "biorxiv:neuroscience",
      "subfield": "neuroscience"
    }
  ],
  "title": "A conserved transcriptional axis links cortical organization, developmental timing and autism-associated perturbations",
  "title_text": "A conserved transcriptional axis links cortical organization, developmental timing and autism-associated perturbations",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:56Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/ev6s482rg2etc",
  "venue": "bioRxiv",
  "versions": []
}