Serial RNA-seq of a single human

Psychiatric disorders are characterized by major fluctuations in psychological function over the course of weeks and months, but the dynamic characteristics of human brain function over this timescale in healthy individuals are unknown. Over a period of 18 months, we performed intensive phenome-wide assessment of a single human, including brain connectivity using resting fMRI, measurements of psychological and physical health, and transcriptomic and metabolomic profiling. Brain connectivity varied across sessions in relation to behavioral variables including mood, fatigue, and food/caffeine intake, as well as variables related to inflammation and gut health. Pathway-based analysis of gene expression in peripheral lymphocytes identified associations with physical health and brain connectivity, including associations between specific brain networks and a broad set of immune-related pathways. Metabolomic measures were strongly associated with dietary variance. This study integrates dense neuroimaging and -omics profiling to provide a detailed picture of the joint dynamics of human brain and metabolic function over time, an approach that is critical for the understanding of brain disorders characterized by increased variability of brain function.