Neuronal precursor migration in ex vivo brain slice culture

Abstract

Neuronal migration during fetal brain development is a well-coordinated process between the migrating neurons and their substrates, the basal processes of the radial glial cells (RGCs). The progeny–progenitor relationship between the migrating neurons and the RGCs in the developing fetal brain may make interpretations of the results difficult, because the variable in question may affect both the RGCs and the migrating neurons in different ways. A transplantation assay combining migrating cells and the scaffolding tissue from two different sources may circumvent this issue. We developed an ex vivo brain slice transplantation assay that allows recording of migrating neurons in real time.