6th
The journey undertaken by newly generated neurons in the adult brain is like the cellular equivalent of the arduous upstream migration of salmon returning to the rivers in which they were hatched. Soon after they are born in the subventricular zone near the back of the brain, these cells migrate to the front-most tip of of the olfactory bulb. This is the furthest point from their birth place, and they traverse two-thirds of the length of the brain to get there.
The first leg of this epic journey - the departure of the newborn cells from the subventricular zone - involves some of the signalling cues that guide cell migrations during development of the brain. However, these signals alone are known to be insufficient, and until now the precise mechanisms governing this migration were unclear. But a new study by Canadian researchers shows that the cells travel such long distances by crawling along the capillaries in the olfactory bulb.
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