Mosaicism of the ventricular layer as the developmental basis of neocortical columnar organization. A 3H-thymidine autoradiographic study in newborn mice.

The ratio and local distribution of intensely and weakly labelled neurons as compared with unlabelled neurons were studied in newborn mice by means of autoradiography using 3H-thymidine injected at various embryonic ages. The distribution and migrational properties of intensely labelled neurons suggest that cells contributing to any given cortical layer are not generated simultaneously but in smaller units that correspond to cortical microcolumns. This implies a mosaicity in the genetic potential of the ventricular germinative layer.