Development of the cerebral cortex in rodents and man

Studies mainly in rodents and man have contributed to new vistas on mammalian cerebral cortex development. Due to the much longer development in man and the larger size of the human brain, particular features (such as the existence of the subplate and tangential migration) were first detected in the human cortex. In addition, experimental techniques that can only be applied in nonhuman mammals revealed the pattern of neuronal generation, and demonstrated the different ways of neuronal migration and the formation of neuronal pathways. In this short review the present vistas on neuronal generation and migration, and the occurrence of transient layers are summarized.