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PMID: 20979582 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Review

Renewed focus on the developing human neocortex.

Journal of anatomy ·Vol. 217 ·No. 4 ·2010-10-00 ·Pages 276-88

Clowry G, Molnár Z, Rakic P

Abstract

Many specifically human psychiatric and neurological conditions have developmental origins. Rodent models are extremely valuable for the investigation of brain development, but cannot provide insight into aspects that are specifically human. The human brain, and particularly the cerebral cortex, has some unique genetic, molecular, cellular and anatomical features, and these need to be further explored. Cortical expansion in human is not just quantitative; there are some novel types of neurons and cytoarchitectonic areas identified by their gene expression, connectivity and functions that do not exist in rodents. Recent research into human brain development has revealed more elaborated neurogenetic compartments, radial and tangential migration, transient cell layers in the subplate, and a greater diversity of early-generated neurons, including predecessor neurons. Recently there has been a renaissance of the study of human brain development because of these unique differences, made possible by the availability of new techniques. This review gives a flavour of the recent studies stemming from this renewed focus on the developing human brain.

MeSH Terms
Animals Brain Injuries/physiopathology Brain Mapping/methods Cerebral Cortex/anatomy & histology,embryology,growth & development Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging Neurons/physiology
Authors & Affiliations
3 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Clowry Gavin
Institute of Neuroscience, Newcastle University, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. [email protected]
Molnár Zoltán
Rakic Pasko
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of anatomy
Abbr.
J Anat
ISSN
1469-7580
DOI
10.1111/j.1469-7580.2010.01281.x
Email
[email protected]
Published
2010-10-00
Pages
276-88
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
0137162
PMCID
PMC2992407
Subset
IM
Grants
Medical Research Council · G0700089 · United Kingdom
Medical Research Council · G0900901 · United Kingdom
Medical Research Council · G9900837 · United Kingdom
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2010.01281.x PMC Full Text View journal details
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