# Can the adult normalized microarray datasets be used in teenagers study?
**URL:** https://community.brain-map.org/t/can-the-adult-normalized-microarray-datasets-be-used-in-teenagers-study/1552
**Category:** General
**Tags:** atlas-human-brain-adult
**Created:** [March 31, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://community.brain-map.org/t/can-the-adult-normalized-microarray-datasets-be-used-in-teenagers-study/1552 "2022-03-31T14:37:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@shlhsh](https://community.brain-map.org/u/shlhsh)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2022, 2:37pm UTC](https://community.brain-map.org/t/can-the-adult-normalized-microarray-datasets-be-used-in-teenagers-study/1552/1 "2022-03-31T14:37:45Z")
I know that the complete normalized microarray datasets were obtained from adults. Can these be used to study the brain of teenagers?
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### Author:  [@jeremyinseattle](https://community.brain-map.org/u/jeremyinseattle)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://community.brain-map.org/t/can-the-adult-normalized-microarray-datasets-be-used-in-teenagers-study/1552/2 "2022-03-31T16:20:00Z")
Hi @shlhsh. These datasets can be used to study the brains of teenagers, with the caveats that there may be some differences between teenagers and adults. More specifically, I would anticipate that many/most of the differential gene expression changes between brain regions (e.g., genes higher in striatum than cortex) would be common between adults and teenagers. That said, there are likely _some_ genes that are different across the life span, and these could be directly probed using the [BrainSpan Atlas of the Developing Human Brain](http://www.brainspan.org). [This link](http://www.brainspan.org/rnaseq/searches?domain1=10173,10185,10278,10194,10163,10291,10208,10209,10225,10236,10235,10243,10252,10268,10269,10294,10361,10551,10550,10552,10333,10391,10398,10665,10656,10657&domain2=10173,10185,10278,10194,10163,10291,10208,10209,10225,10236,10235,10243,10252,10268,10269,10294,10361,10551,10550,10552,10333,10391,10398,10665,10656,10657&stage1=XI&stage2=X&search_type=differential) performs a search of 12-19 year olds vs. 20-40 year olds from that atlas across all available brain regions (which you could adjust as needed).
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### Author:  [@shlhsh](https://community.brain-map.org/u/shlhsh)
#### Post date: [May 13, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://community.brain-map.org/t/can-the-adult-normalized-microarray-datasets-be-used-in-teenagers-study/1552/3 "2022-05-13T12:53:55Z")
Thank you very much for your reply!