Tangential migration of neurons during the development of the cerebral neocortex

Two forms of neuronal migration have been described in the developing brain: radial migration in which young neurons climb on the shafts of radial glial cells, and tangential migration, in which cells move parallel to the surface of the ventricles and perpendicular to radial glia. The tangential migration occurs in multiple regions of the central nervous system. The relative prevalence of tangential versus radial migration has been estimated to be between 10% to 70%, depending perhaps on the regions of the central nervous system, the time of migration, and animal species studied.