Researchers have discovered key steps in the development of the corpus callosum, a cable of neurons connecting the two hemispheres of the brain, according to a paper published [Oct. 10] in CellReports. The finding helps pin down the cellular basis of callosal agenesis, a condition in which the corpus callosum does not form properly.
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Early in development, the right and left halves of the brain are separated by a fissure filled with fibroblasts and other non-neural cells, which growing neurons must cross to form the corpus callosum. [Ilan Gobius of the University of Queensland in Australia] and colleagues discovered that neurons can’t make this crossing on their own. Astroglia, supporting cells in the brain, situate beneath the fissure and grow upward, forming a bridge that guides the developing corpus callosum, the team found.
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“The field is desperate for a genetic test for this disorder,” study coauthor Linda Richards of the University of Queensland said…“This opens up the possibility for testing for genes like those that Dr. Gobius identified.”
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