Neural specificity at the cellular level is the consequence of a cell's anatomical location, its particular connections, and the set of proteins it expresses. The brain is a complex organ and its cells express an enormous number of specific proteins, yet very few brain-specific proteins have thus far been characterized. To understand ultimately the basis of brain function, it will be necessary to know the proteins involved. Since so few have been enumerated, and so very many exist, a descriptive approach seems desperately needed. Although proteins that are shared with other tissues doubtlessly play important roles in brain functions, they are so outnumbered by proteins which are specific to the brain that it seems reasonable to assume that the shared proteins are important biochemically but that the informational nature of brain function results from the specific proteins.
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Sutcliffe et al. (1983) studied this question.