The ventral habenulae of zebrafish develop in prosomere 2 dependent on Tcf7l2 function

Conclusions:
We show in vivo that dorsal and ventral habenulae develop in different regions of prosomere 2. In the process of ventral habenula formation, functional tcf7l2 gene activity is required and in its absence, ventral habenular neurons do not develop. Influenced by signals from parapineal cells, dorsal habenular neurons differentiate at a time at which ventral habenular cells are still on their way towards their final destination. Thus, our finding may provide a simple explanation as to why only neuronal populations of the dorsal habenulae differ in size across brain hemispheres.

Source: Neural Development - September 25, 2013 Category: Neurology Authors: Carlo BerettaNicolas DrossPeter BankheadMatthias Carl Source Type: research