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Arriving On Time

Insight into control of neuronal migration – a fundamental process during brain development

17 November 2022

Arriving On Time

Actors arriving on stage too early or too late can ruin a play. As our brain develops billions of neurons must also take their place at precisely the right moment. This is controlled by neuronal precursors – carefully choreographed clusters of starter cells that migrate from one place to another. A protein called p75NTR is involved, but details of its role were unclear, so a new study has examined its activity during the migration of granule cell precursors. Mature granule cells sit in the cerebellum region of the brain (mouse cerebellum pictured with p75NTR in green and migrating cells in pink) and help control movement. In mice lacking this protein the precursor cells migrated too early, resulting in an over-accumulation in the adult brain, which can affect normal development. Unpicking the details of neural migration will help explain how healthy development occurs, and what changes to cause conditions like autism.

Written by Anthony Lewis

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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