Biochemical differences between neuronal cell populations of the mammalian brain, including selection of neurotransmitters and distinct neural antigens, suggest that the regulation of gene expression plays an important role in defining brain function. Here we describe the use of in situ hybridization to identify cDNA clones of highly regulated mRNA species and to define directly their pattern of gene expression in brain at both gross morphological and cellular levels. One of the selected cDNA clones, pMuBr2, detected a single 3.0 kb mRNA species, which from in situ hybridization appears specific to oligodendroglia cells. Three other cDNA clones, pMuBr3, 8 and 85, identified polyadenylated mRNA transcripts expressed by neuronal cells of the murine brain. Viewed at the gross morphological level, the mRNAs hybridizing to these cDNA sequences exhibit different patterns of abundance distinguishing such brain structures as pons, anterior thalamus, hippocampus, basal ganglia and anterior lobe of the neuroendocrine pituitary gland. At the cellular level, in situ hybridization revealed that these mRNAs are differentially expressed by morphologically and functionally distinct neurons of the cerebellum and hippocampal formation. When examined in the context of known brain function, however, the regulated expression of the neuron-specific mRNAs does not correlate simply with known cellular morphology or previously demonstrated neuronal relationships suggesting novel patterns of gene expression which may contribute to brain function.