Chicago, IL 60637
United States
Center for Motor Neuron Disease (CMND) Special Seminar
Wednesday, November 12th, 2:00 pm
Sonia Garel, PhD
Collège de France
GCIS W301/W303
“The early cellular choreography of brain construction”
Abstract: Understanding how neural circuits assemble in space and time is essential not only for grasping the logic of brain development but also for investigating the origins of neurodevelopmental disorders. This lecture will examine the early cellular choreography that organizes the basal ganglia, a key hub for motor and cognitive circuits. It will show how migrating neurons not only establish their own territories but also guide axons navigating through these regions, coupling migration and pathfinding within a shared developmental framework. Within the basal ganglia, these migratory dynamics also drive cellular intermixing and compartment formation, influenced by early prenatal electrical activity that appears to shape brain architecture earlier than previously recognized. Together, these findings reveal a self-organized process in which migration, axon guidance, and activity act in concert to build brain structure and define potential sites of developmental vulnerability.