Development and evolution of the human cerebral cortex

Alexander Pollen
(UCSF School of Medicine)
Date: February 11, 2016
Description:
What are the genetic and developmental changes underlying the expansion of the human brain over the last six million years? I will discuss our recent identification of a human-specific mutation that increases brain size and improves learning behavior. Next, I will highlight how we have used single cell genomics to characterize the neural stem cell populations that contribute to the expansion of the cerebral cortex during development. Finally, I will describe ongoing work establishing a new model system for studying human-specific biology.
Further Information:
Content available to Stanford students, faculty, and staff only.
Created: Thursday, February 11th, 2016