The subventricular zone: new molecular and cellular developments

The subventricular zone (SVZ), which lines the lateral walls of the lateral ventricle, persists as a neurogenic zone into adulthood and functions as the largest site of neurogenesis in the adult brain. In recent years, with the acceptance of the concept of postembryonic mammalian neurogenesis, neurogenesis in the adult SVZ has been an area of active research. With the rapid accumulation of new information on the SVZ, some of which is contradictory, summarizing existing knowledge on the SVZ and outlining future research directions in this area become important. In this review, we will cover recent molecular and cellular investigations that characterize the SVZ niche, SVZ neurogenesis, and SVZ cell migration within the adult brain.