Title: Identification and Characterization of Genes Essential for Human Brain Development
Description: The human brain is a network of ninety billion neurons that allows for many of the behavioral adaptations considered unique to our species. One-fifth of these neurons are layered in an epithelial sheet known as the cerebral cortex, which is exquisitely folded into convolutions called gyri. Defects in neuronal number clinically present with microcephaly (Greek for "small head"), and in inherited cases these defects can be linked to mutations that identify genes essential for neural progenitor proliferation. Most microcephaly genes are characterized to play a role in the centrosome, however rarer presentations of microcephaly have identified different mechanisms.