Neocortex expansion in development and evolution — from cell biology to single genes

•Cell biology of apical cell polarity loss and newborn basal progenitor delamination.•Cell biological basis of sustaining basal progenitor proliferation.•Human-specific gene expression causing basal progenitor generation and proliferation.

Neocortex expansion in development and evolution reflects an increased and prolonged activity of neural progenitor cells. Insight into key aspects of the underlying cell biology has recently been obtained. First, the restriction of apical progenitors to undergo mitosis at the ventricular surface is overcome by generation of basal progenitors, which are free to undergo mitosis at abventricular location, typically the subventricular zone. This process involves basolateral ciliogenesis, delamination from the apical adherens junction belt, and loss of apical cell polarity. Second, proliferative capacity of basal progenitors is supported by self-produced extracellular matrix constituents, which in turn promote growth factor signalling. Humans amplify these processes by characteristic alterations in expression of key regulatory genes (PAX6), and via human-specific genes (ARHGAP11B).