Cell cycle regulation and interneuron production.

The regulation of progenitor proliferation in developing brain in has been extensively studied in the cerebral cortex, but relatively little is known about progenitor divisions in ventral germinal zones. Recent observations pertinent to interneuron genesis in the ventral forebrain, especially in the medial ganglionic eminence, indicate similarities to cerebral cortical neurogenesis and hint at some interesting differences between ventral and dorsal telencephalon progenitors. Proliferation within the ganglionic eminences is discussed from the vantage point of neural precursor cell cycles, especially G1-phase, and current models of neurogenic divisions in cortex that may apply to ventral forebrain as well.