Neurogenesis in the context of Interneuron

Neurochemistry is the study of chemicals, including neurotransmitters and other molecules such as psychopharmaceuticals and neuropeptides, that control and influence the physiology of the nervous system. This particular field within neuroscience examines how neurochemicals influence the operation of neurons, synapses, and neural networks. Neurochemists analyze the biochemistry and molecular biology of organic compounds in the nervous system, and their roles in such neural processes including cortical plasticity, neurogenesis, and neural differentiation.

Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or just plasticity, is the medium of neural networks in the brain to change through growth and reorganization. Neuroplasticity refers to the brain's ability to reorganize and rewire its neural connections, enabling it to adapt and function in ways that differ from its prior state. This process can occur in response to learning new skills, experiencing environmental changes, recovering from injuries, or adapting to sensory or cognitive deficits. Such adaptability highlights the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of the brain, even into adulthood. These changes range from individual neuron pathways making new connections, to systematic adjustments like cortical remapping or neural oscillation. Other forms of neuroplasticity include homologous area adaptation, cross modal reassignment, map expansion, and compensatory masquerade. Examples of neuroplasticity include circuit and network changes that result from learning a new ability, information acquisition, environmental influences, pregnancy, caloric intake, practice/training, and psychological stress.

Neuroplasticity was once thought by neuroscientists to manifest only during childhood, but research in the later half of the 20th century showed that many aspects of the brain exhibit plasticity through adulthood. The developing brain exhibits a higher degree of plasticity than the adult brain. Activity-dependent plasticity can have significant implications for healthy development, learning, memory, and recovery from brain damage.

Neuroepithelial cells, or neuroectodermal cells, form the wall of the closed neural tube in early embryonic development. The neuroepithelial cells span the thickness of the tube's wall, connecting with the pial surface and with the ventricular or lumenal surface. They are joined at the lumen of the tube by junctional complexes, where they form a pseudostratified layer of epithelium called neuroepithelium.

Neuroepithelial cells are the stem cells of the central nervous system, known as neural stem cells, and generate the intermediate progenitor cells known as radial glial cells, that differentiate into neurons and glia in the process of neurogenesis.

Radial glial cells (RGCs), or radial glial progenitor cells (RGPs), are bipolar-shaped progenitor cells that are responsible for producing all of the neurons in the cerebral cortex. RGPs also produce certain lineages of glia, including astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Their cell bodies (somata) reside in the embryonic ventricular zone, which lies next to the developing ventricular system.

During development, newborn neurons use radial glia as scaffolds, traveling along the radial glial fibers in order to reach their final destinations. Despite the various possible fates of the radial glial population, it has been demonstrated through clonal analysis that most radial glia have restricted, unipotent or multipotent, fates. Radial glia can be found during the neurogenic phase in all vertebrates (studied to date).

The subventricular zone (SVZ) is a region situated on the outside wall of each lateral ventricle of the vertebrate brain. It is present in both the embryonic and adult brain. In embryonic life, the SVZ refers to a secondary proliferative zone containing neural progenitor cells, which divide to produce neurons in the process of neurogenesis. The primary neural stem cells of the brain and spinal cord, termed radial glial cells, instead reside in the ventricular zone (VZ) (so-called because the VZ lines the inside of the developing ventricles).

In the developing cerebral cortex, which resides in the dorsal telencephalon, the SVZ and VZ are transient tissues that do not exist in the adult. However, the SVZ of the ventral telencephalon persists throughout life. The adult SVZ is composed of four distinct layers of variable thickness and cell density as well as cellular composition. Along with the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus, the SVZ is one of two places where neurogenesis has been found to occur in the adult mammalian brain. Adult SVZ neurogenesis takes the form of neuroblast precursors of interneurons that migrate to the olfactory bulb through the rostral migratory stream. The SVZ also appears to be involved in the generation of astrocytes following a brain injury.

The Princeton University Department of Psychology, located in Peretsman-Scully Hall, is an academic department of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. It has been home to psychologists who have made significant scientific discoveries in psychology and neuroscience, such as adult neurogenesis in primate brains, the concept of the cognitive miser, bystander non-intervention, face-selective neurons in primate brains, feature integration theory, mental models theory, and prospect theory.

The department's large undergraduate and graduate programs are highly ranked and it has developed a well-respected neuroscience program. The faculty have received numerous awards, including a Nobel Prize, six Distinguished Contributions awards from the American Psychological Association, and three William James Fellow awards from the Association for Psychological Science (APS). Additionally, faculty members have previously served as presidents of the APS, are fellows of the APS, and have been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. As of 2024, the department is chaired by Casey Lew-Williams, a developmental psychologist known for his work on communication in human infancy.