Shaping cerebral cortex by cellular crosstalk
The cerebral cortex is the most complex and evolutionary advanced structure of the human brain. It is responsible for processing motor and sensory information and it supports a wide range of sophisticated thinking skills such as communication, decision making, and causal reasoning.
Cerebral corticogenesis starts in utero during pregnancy and the progressive maturation of cortical neuronal networks ends around early adulthood. This protracted process requires the integration of several key cellular interactions that involve direct contacts or extracellular molecules signaling. Together with intrinsic cellular programs, these crosstalk orchestrate the proper formation and functional maturation of the cerebral cortex.
In the latest issue of Cell, Julie Stoufflet, Sylvia Tielens, and Laurent Nguyen from the GIGA-Stem cells/ Neurosciences provide a leading edge review describing how cellular crosstalk shape the cerebral cortex and how interfering with some underly neurodevelopmental disorders. This is in line with the recent research of the Nguyen laboratory describing novel key cellular crosstalk that contribute to the early step of cerebral cortex formation (see Silva et al., Cell 2018 and Lepiemme et al., Science 2022).
Contacts
Reference
Shaping the cerebral cortex by cellular crosstalk
Stoufflet J, Tielens S, Nguyen L.
Cell 186, June 22, 2023
