Cited by 849Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanismsCongenital heart defects researchNeonatal and fetal brain pathology

Corridors of migrating neurons in the human brain and their decline during infancy

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Sanai, Nader, Nguyen, Thuhien, Ihrie, Rebecca A., Mirzadeh, Zaman, Tsai, Hui-Hsin, Wong, Michael, Gupta, Nalin, Berger, Mitchel S. +4 more·2011·Nature

Abstract

The subventricular zone of many adult non-human mammals generates large numbers of new neurons destined for the olfactory bulb. Along the walls of the lateral ventricles, immature neuronal progeny migrate in tangentially oriented chains that coalesce into a rostral migratory stream (RMS) connecting the subventricular zone to the olfactory bulb. The adult human subventricular zone, in contrast, contains a hypocellular gap layer separating the ependymal lining from a periventricular ribbon of astrocytes. Some of these subventricular zone astrocytes can function as neural stem cells in vitro, but their function in vivo remains controversial. An initial report found few subventricular zone proliferating cells and rare migrating immature neurons in the RMS of adult humans. In contrast, a subsequent study indicated robust proliferation and migration in the human subventricular zone and RMS. Here we find that the infant human subventricular zone and RMS contain an extensive corridor of migrating immature neurons before 18 months of age but, contrary to previous reports, this germinal activity subsides in older children and is nearly extinct by adulthood. Surprisingly, during this limited window of neurogenesis, not all new neurons in the human subventricular zone are destined for the olfactory bulb--we describe a major migratory pathway that targets the prefrontal cortex in humans. Together, these findings reveal robust streams of tangentially migrating immature neurons in human early postnatal subventricular zone and cortex. These pathways represent potential targets of neurological injuries affecting neonates.

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  • Some neurogenesis occurs after birth: neurons continue to arise and migrate from the subventricular zone of the anterior lateral ventricles to the olfactory bulb and ventromedial prefrontal cortex during the first 18 months of postnatal life.

    “one study showed that neurons continue to arise and migrate from the subventricular zone of the anterior lateral ventricles to the olfactory bulb and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in the first 18 months of postnatal life205.”
  • The astroglial population is likely largely non-proliferative and fully differentiated by the end of the first postnatal year.

    “The astroglial population is likely largely non-proliferative and fully differentiated by the end of the first postnatal year (Kang et al., 2011; Sanai et al., 2011)”

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Authors
Sanai, N., Nguyen, T., Ihrie, R. A., Mirzadeh, Z., Tsai, H.-H., Wong, M., Gupta, N., Berger, M. S., Huang, E., Garcia-Verdugo, J.-M., Rowitch, D. H., & Alvarez-Buylla, A.
Affiliations
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
  • Barrow Neurological Institute (US)
  • University of California, San Francisco (US)
Corresponding author
Rowitch, David H.
Venue
Nature
Published
2011-09-28
Volume
478
Issue
7369
Pages
382-386
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2012253237
Cited by
849
References
32
Citations by year
2026: 17 · 2025: 43 · 2024: 35 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 52 · 2021: 47 · 2020: 61 · 2019: 57 · 2018: 57 · 2017: 62 · 2016: 63 · 2015: 63 · 2014: 86 · 2013: 75 · 2012: 68
FWCI
24.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
  • National Institutes of Health (K26OD010927)
  • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R37NS028478, R01NS059893, R01NS082745, R01NS028478, F32NS058180)
  • National Center for Research Resources (K26RR024858)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R37HD032116, R01HD032116)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Developmental Neuroscience › Neurogenesis and neuroplasticity mechanisms
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Congenital heart defects research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Neonatal and fetal brain pathology
Keywords
rostral migratory stream, subventricular zone, neuronal migration, tangential migration, human brain development, postnatal neurogenesis, prefrontal cortex, olfactory bulb, neuronal precursors, neural stem cells, infancy, neonatal brain injury
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Brain, Cell Movement, Child, Child, Preschool, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Middle Aged, Neurons, Olfactory Pathways, Cell Proliferation

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