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Updated: Mar 12, 2026
Author Spotlight: Exploring Cell Migration and Gene Roles in the Developing Brain
Published on: March 8, 2024
Extensive migration of young neurons into the infant human frontal lobe
Mercedes F Paredes1,2, David James1,3, Sara Gil-Perotin4,5
1Edythe Broad Institute for Stem Cell Research and Regeneration Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Insights
Newly discovered neurons migrate extensively in infant brains, contributing to frontal lobe development and potentially impacting neurodevelopmental disorders. Understanding this process is key to brain plasticity.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Human Anatomy
Background:
- The early postnatal period is critical for human brain development.
- The frontal lobe, crucial for executive functions, shows unique expansion in humans, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving frontal lobe development in infancy.
- To identify novel cellular populations and migratory pathways contributing to frontal lobe expansion.
Main Methods:
- Postmortem analysis of infant human brain tissue.
- Cellular tracing and migration studies.
- Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization.
Main Results:
- Identification of a novel population of neurons migrating widely within the infant frontal lobe.
- Observation of tangential migration along ventricles and blood vessels, followed by long-distance dispersal.
- These neurons integrate into cortical inhibitory circuits.
Conclusions:
- Late-arriving interneurons play a significant role in frontal lobe development and plasticity.
- Disruptions in postnatal neuronal migration or differentiation may be implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Abstract:
The first few months after birth, when a child begins to interact with the environment, are critical to human brain development. The human frontal lobe is important for social behavior and executive function; it has increased in size and complexity relative to other species, but the processes that have contributed to this expansion are unknown. Our studies of postmortem infant human brains revealed a collection of neurons that migrate and integrate widely into the frontal lobe during infancy. Chains of young neurons move tangentially close to the walls of the lateral ventricles and along blood vessels. These cells then individually disperse long distances to reach cortical tissue, where they differentiate and contribute to inhibitory circuits. Late-arriving interneurons could contribute to developmental plasticity, and the disruption of their postnatal migration or differentiation may underlie neurodevelopmental disorders.
