Unraveling the ins and outs of brain development
Friday, June 10, 2011 - 10:00
in Biology & Nature
The embryonic nervous system is a hollow tube consisting of elongated neural progenitor cells, which extend from the inner to the outer surface of the tube. In a section inside the tube called the ventricular zone (VZ), these cells divide and produce immature neurons that migrate outwards. This involves well-characterized movements that are coupled to cell division. After a cell divides at the inner-most VZ region, the nuclei migrate to the outer region, where they synthesize new DNA before returning.