Mechanism of neurogenesis in adult avian brain

Adult neurogenesis in birds offers unique opportunities to study basic questions addressing the birth, migration and differentiation of neurons. Neurons in adult canaries originate from discrete proliferative regions on the walls of the lateral ventricles. They migrate away from their site of birth, initially at high rates, along the processes of radical cells. The rates of dispersal diminish as the young neurons invade regions devoid of radial fibers, probably under the guidance of other cues. The discrete sites of birth in the ventricular zone generate neurons that end up differentiating throughout the telencephalon. New neurons may become interneurons or projection neurons; the latter connect two song control nuclei between neostriatum and archistriatum. Radial cells, that in mammals disappear as neurogenesis comes to an end, persist in the adult avian brain. The presence of radial cells may be key to adult neurogenesis. Not only do they serve as guides for initial dispersal, they also divide and may be the progenitors of new neurons.