Anatomical perspectives on adult neural stem cells

The concept of stem cells within the adult brain is not new. However, only recently have scientific techniques become sufficiently advanced to identify them although this remains problematic and the technology is still developing. Nevertheless, it is now generally recognized that stem cells are restricted to two germinal regions within the intact brain. From here they can migrate to specific destinations where they integrate with existing circuitry. Their identity remains controversial but a growing body of evidence suggests it may have an astrocytic phenotype. Within the germinal regions the stem cells are confined to a niche environment and are capable of responding to environmental signals generated locally in an autocrine or paracrine fashion. The niche environment is also modulated by more generalized systemic and physiological activity. These observations are exciting in their own right and form the basis of this review. They are also beginning to alter how we think about neural injury and disease and to impact on the development of novel therapies.