Neurogenesis and the cell cycle.

For a long time, it has been understood that neurogenesis is linked to proliferation and thus to the cell cycle. Recently, the gears that mediate this linkage have become accessible to molecular investigation. This review describes some of the progress that has been made in understanding how the molecular machinery of the cell cycle is used in the processes of size regulation in the brain, histogenesis, neuronal differentiation, and the maintenance of stem cells.