Control of tangential/non-radial migration of neurons in the developing cerebral cortex

Projection neurons in the developing cerebral cortex of rodents are basically born near the ventricle and migrate radially to beneath the marginal zone, whereas their cortical interneurons are generated in the ventral telencephalon and migrate tangentially to the cortex. The origins and migratory profiles of each interneuron subtype have been studied extensively in the last decade, and an enormous effort has been made to clarify the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate interneuron migration. More recently, the interaction between projection neurons and migrating interneurons, including how they are incorporated into their proper layers, has begun to be analyzed. In this review, I outline the most recent findings in regard to these issues and discuss the mechanisms underlying the development of cortical cytoarchitecture.