# Mouse brain development timeline

The house mouse (Mus musculus) has a gestation period of 19 to 21 days. Key events in mouse brain development occur both before and after birth, beginning with peak neurogenesis of the cranial motor nuclei 9 days after conception, up to eye opening which occurs after birth and about 30 days after conception.

## Stages in brain development

| Days post conception | Event | Reference |
| 9 | cranial motor nuclei - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 10 | subplate -start of neurogenesis | Bayer and Altman (1991) |
| 10 | inferior olivary nucleus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 10.5 | retinal ganglion cell generation - start of neurogenesis | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 10.5 | superficial superior colliculus (SC) laminae- start of neurogenesis | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 10.5 | dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (dLGN) - start of neurogenesis | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 10.5 | Purkinje cells - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 11 | cranial sensory nuclei - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 11 | subplate - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 11 | reticular nuclei - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 11 | medial geniculate nucleus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 11 | globus pallidus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 11.5 | ventral LGN - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12 | dLGN - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12 | cochlear nuclei - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12 | mitral cells - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12 | amygdala - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12 | subplate - end of neurogenesis | Bayer and Altman (1991) |
| 12.3 | axons in optic stalk | Dunlop et al. (1997) |
| 12.5 | ventral posterior nucleus (VP) and ventrobasal nucleus (VB) of the thalamus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12.5 | nucleus of lateral olfactory tract - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12.5 | claustrum - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12.5 | neurogenesis cortical layer VI - peak (VC) of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 12.5 | dLGN- end of neurogenesis | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 12.5 | preoptic nucleus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | medial forebrain bundle appears | Ashwell et al. (1996) |
| 13 | suprachiasmatic nucleus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | optic axons at chiasm of optic tract | Dunlop et al. (1997) |
| 13 | superior colliculus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | retinal ganglion cells - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | septal nuclei - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | entorhinal cortex - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | subiculum – peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | neurogenesis cortical layer V - peak (VC) of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13 | neurogenesis cortical lamina VI - end (VC) of neurogenesis | Caviness (1982) |
| 13.5 | raphe complex - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13.5 | anterior olfactory nucleus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13.5 | anteroventral (AV), anterodorsal (AD) and anteromedial (AM) thalamic nuclei - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13.5 | pontine nuclei – peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13.5 | parasubiculum – peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 13.5 | stria terminalis appears | Ashwell et al. (1996) |
| 13.5 | presubiculum – peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 14 | fasciculus retroflexus appears | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 14 | caudoputamen – peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 14 | superficial SC laminae - end of neurogenesis | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 14 | fornix appears | Ashwell et al. (1996) |
| 14 | cones - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 14 | neurogenesis cortical layer V - end (VC) of neurogenesis | Caviness (1982) |
| 14.5 | optic axons reach dLGN and SC | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 14.5 | anterior commissure appears | Ashwell et al. (1996) |
| 15 | neurogenesis cortical lamina IV - start (VC) of neurogenesis | Caviness (1982) |
| 15 | CA 1, CA 2 of hippocampus - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 15 | retinal amacrine cells - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 15 | hippocampal commissure appears | Ashwell et al. (1996) |
| 15 | neurogenesis cortical layer II /III - peak (VC) of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 15.5 | optic axons invade visual centers | Dunlop et al. (1997) |
| 16 | nucleus accumbens - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 16 | tufted cells - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 16 | isles of Calleja - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 17 | neurogenesis cortical layer IV - peak (VC) of neurogenesis | Caviness (1982) |
| 17 | corpus callosum appears | Ashwell et al. (1996) |
| 17 | neurogenesis cortical layer IV - end (VC) of neurogenesis | Bayer and Altman (1991) |
| 18.5 | retinal ganglion cell generation - end of neurogenesis | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 19 | initial differentiation of layer V (S1) | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 19 | rods - peak of neurogenesis | Finlay and Darlington (1995) |
| 21 | complete separation of layer V (S1) | Rice et al. (1985) |
| 22 | onset of barrels (S1) | Rice et al. (1985) |
| 22 | onset of sublayers in layer V (S1) | Rice et al. (1985) |
| 22 | onset of trilaminar plate (S1) | Rice et al. (1985) |
| 24 | onset of barrel field septa (S1) | Rice et al. (1985) |
| 25.5 | ipsi/contra segregation in LGN and SC | Robinson and Dreher (1990) |
| 30 | eye opening | Dunlop et al. (1997) |