The neocortex is the evolutionarily most recent addition to the brain and is vastly expanded in size in primates and especially in humans. The neocortex is the part of the brain responsible for complex tasks including sensory integration and cognition. Disruption of the laminar architecture of the neocortex is associated with more than 25 neurological disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia, autism and mental retardation.  In this talk I will explain our contribution to the understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that regulate neuronal subtype specification in the neocortex and the proper positioning of these neurons into defined neocortical cell layers. Remarkably, I will show that molecules that regulate cell-cell interactions are critical to control self-renewal and fate specification of projection neurons as well as their migration into appropriate neocortical cell layers. These studies together with lineage tracing studies also suggest the existence of heterogeneity in the progenitor pool that generate subtypes of projection neurons and glial cells. I will present our approach aimed at the identification of the molecular pathways that regulate lineage diversification in the neocortex and how imbalance in progenitors pools is causally related to neurological and psychiatric diseases.

More information:

• https://gil-sanzlab.com/