A Time and a Place for Nkx2-1 in Interneuron Specification and Migration

The homeobox transcription factor, Nkx2-1, plays multiple roles during forebrain development. Using restricted genetic ablation of Nkx2-1, in this issue of Neuron, Butt et al. show that Nkx2-1 in telencephalic progenitors regulates interneuron subtype specification, while Nóbrega-Pereira et al. demonstrate that postmitotic Nkx2-1 regulates migration and sorting of interneurons to the striatum or cortex by controlling the expression of the guidance receptor, Neuropilin-2.