STRATEGIES UTILIZED BY MIGRATING NEURONS OF THE POSTNATAL VERTEBRATE FOREBRAIN

Structural brain repair has become a possibility with the identificati on and characterization of persistent neuronal progenitor cells in bot h the neonatal and adult brain, However, despite recent advances in th e identification, propagation and expansion of these cells, they will not be useful therapeutically until methods are available for directin g or delivering them to sites of need, As a result, the natural histor y and induction of neuronal migration into adult brain tissue has assu med new importance in clinical neurobiology, In this review we conside r the cellular and molecular bases of neuronal migration into the post natal forebrain, In particular, we discuss two natural paradigms of po stnatal neuronal recruitment: radial-cell-directed neuronal migration to the songbird neostriatum, and neurophilic migration to the rodent o lfactory bulb, In each, we will focus on the dynamic interactions betw een the migrants, their cellular guides and the local environment, and the effect of those interactions on migrational success.