Early phenotype expression of cortical neurons: evidence that a subclass of migrating neurons have callosal axons.

The use of [3H]thymidine labeling in combination with various axonal transport tracers has revealed that a subset of migrating neurons in the fetal monkey cerebrum issue axons to the opposite cerebral hemisphere while still migrating to their final positions in the cortical plate. Other cortical neurons with the same "birthdate" (i.e., that underwent their last round of DNA synthesis on the same day) are not retrogradely labeled by tracer injections of the opposite hemisphere. These findings suggest that the cardinal distinction between projection and local circuit neurons may be specified in postmitotic neurons before they acquire their final positions in the cortex. IMAGES: