Investigations of neuronal migration in the central nervous system

The migration of neuronal precursor cells is essential for the formation of the embryonic nervous system and for the maintenance of the adult nervous system. Modern approaches have greatly facilitated molecular and cellular studies of mechanisms underlying neuronal migration. Here we use the cells migrating from the anterior subventricular zone to the olfactory bulb as a model to discuss in some detail how neuronal migration can be studied. These methods can be adapted to other models of neuronal (or somatic cell) migration.