Several advances have been made recently in characterizing neural prog
enitor cells. In vertebrates, multipotential stem cells have been demo
nstrated in the developing forebrain both in vitro and in vivo, and a
class of stem cells has been identified in the adult CNS. Factors that
regulate the proliferation and differentiation of subtypes of neural
progenitor cells have also been described. In invertebrates, progress
has been made in identifying genes involved in neural progenitor cell
specification, cell-fate choices and regulation.