RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Random Walk Behavior of Migrating Cortical Interneurons in the Marginal Zone: Time-Lapse Analysis in Flat-Mount Cortex JF The Journal of Neuroscience JO J. Neurosci. FD Society for Neuroscience SP 1300 OP 1311 DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5446-08.2009 VO 29 IS 5 A1 Daisuke H. Tanaka A1 Mitsutoshi Yanagida A1 Yan Zhu A1 Sakae Mikami A1 Takashi Nagasawa A1 Jun-ichi Miyazaki A1 Yuchio Yanagawa A1 Kunihiko Obata A1 Fujio Murakami YR 2009 UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/29/5/1300.abstract AB Migrating neurons are thought to travel from their origin near the ventricle to distant territories along stereotypical pathways by detecting environmental cues in the extracellular milieu. Here, we report a novel mode of neuronal migration that challenges this view. We performed long-term, time-lapse imaging of medial ganglionic eminence (MGE)-derived cortical interneurons tangentially migrating in the marginal zone (MZ) in flat-mount cortices. We find that they exhibit a diverse range of behaviors in terms of the rate and direction of migration. Curiously, a predominant population of these neurons repeatedly changes its direction of migration in an unpredictable manner. Trajectories of migration vary from one neuron to another. The migration of individual cells lasts for long periods, sometimes up to 2 d. Theoretical analyses reveal that these behaviors can be modeled by a random walk. Furthermore, MZ cells migrate from the cortical subventricular zone to the cortical plate, transiently accumulating in the MZ. These results suggest that MGE-derived cortical interneurons, once arriving at the MZ, are released from regulation by guidance cues and initiate random walk movement, which potentially contributes to their dispersion throughout the cortex.