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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Mar 1.
Published in final edited form as: Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2012 May 29;2(2):229–245. doi: 10.1002/wdev.67

Figure 1.

Figure 1

Schematic representation of the developing mammalian brain. (1) Coronal section of one half of the mammalian developing forebrain. There are two main migratory streams of post-mitotic neurons: the radial migration of excitatory cortical pyramidal neurons from the ventricular zone (VZ) to the cortical plate (CP) (black arrow) and the tangential migration of inhibitory GABAergic interneurons from lateral- and medial- ganglionic eminences (LGE/MGE) into the neocortex (blue arrow). (2) The developing cerebral cortex in mammals is multi-layered with different neuronal cell populations. Near the lateral ventricle (LV) surface, neural progenitors (NPs) reside in the ventricular zone (VZ). This progenitor zone is extended to subventricular and intermediate zones (SVZ and IZ, respectively). Newly born neurons from the division of NPs undergo extensive radial neuronal migration to enter the cortical plate (CP). The marginal zone (MZ) is a most superficial layer to contain Cajal-Retzius cells secreting the RELN (Reelin) glycoprotein.