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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Jul 1.
Published in final edited form as: Wiley Interdiscip Rev Dev Biol. 2012 Sep 18;2(4):443–459. doi: 10.1002/wdev.88

Figure 2. Diverse populations of excitatory neuron progenitor cells in the mouse neocortex.

Figure 2

During early brain development, neuroepithelial cells (NECs) are the major neural progenitors in the neocortex. NECs divide symmetrically to generate additional NECs, some of which give rise to the first group of neurons (N) through asymmetric division. As the developing brain epithelium thickens, NECs elongate and transit to radial glial cells (RGCs). RGCs can also divide symmetrically to expand the progenitor pool or asymmetrically to generate neurons either directly or indirectly through intermediate progenitor cells (IPCs), which generate neurons directly through symmetric division in the subventricular zone (SVZ). It remains unclear how short neural progenitors (SNPs) are generated. It is possible that they are generated from RGCs or they may be a distinct population originated directly from NECs. Most SNPs produce postmitotic neurons directly in the ventricular zone (VZ). Outer subventricular zone (OSVZ) progenitors likely originate from RGCs through oblique division, which leads to loss of the apical process and ascension of the nucleus towards the cortical plate/intermediate zone (CP/IZ). The minor population of OSVZ progenitors can also generate neurons through asymmetric division outside of the VZ.