Physiological relevance of cell division regulators in mammalian neural development.

Resumen

A cubic millimeter of the cerebral cortex in the adult human brain may contain a hundred thousand cells, interacting by billions of synapses, and operating with a precision scale of milliseconds. Such cognitive dexterity allows our brain to extract, process, code, store and interpret an overwhelming amount of information about the environment and our own internal states. The brain can be considered a critical mediator for all cognitive processes including perception, motivation, memory, learning or emotion among others. Following the ontogenetic theory, a possibility to unwire the highly intricate complexity of the brain anatomy and function, entails a deep understanding of its own development. Development of the cerebral cortex in mammals relies on the tight regulation of the proliferation and differentiation of neural progenitor cells (NPs). Whereas neuroepithelial cells (NECs) initially constitute the neural tube, a hierarchy of differentially-fated NPs stems from them. NPs are able to differentiate towards the neural, astrocytic and oligodendrocytic cell lineages which populate the adult brain, and interact together forming neural networks, key for correct brain functioning. However, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying NPs diversity and behavior are still far from clear. Whereas cell division is known to be a critical event for the proliferation and expansion of NPs, is also proposed to be in the root of the process of cell fate and lineage diversity acquisition during neurodevelopment...