Migrating Brain Cells Stick Together

Mason Inman

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000239

Abstract

Migrating Brain Cells Stick Together

Highlights

Slime molds provide a textbook example of self-organization
Neurons in the developing brain complete their own self-organized waltz, coordinating with their neighbors to migrate to the right spots to form the cerebellum, visual cortex, or other parts of the brain
In this issue of PLoS Biology, Reinhard Koster and colleagues show that some of these brain cells behave much like slime molds, coordinating with other cells of the same type to migrate in a herd

Summary

Introduction

Slime molds provide a textbook example of self-organization. They live as single cells until food becomes scarce. Neurons in the developing brain complete their own self-organized waltz, coordinating with their neighbors to migrate to the right spots to form the cerebellum, visual cortex, or other parts of the brain. In this issue of PLoS Biology, Reinhard Koster and colleagues show that some of these brain cells behave much like slime molds, coordinating with other cells of the same type to migrate in a herd.

Results

Conclusion