Review of Kawai et al. The adult brain of most mammalian species retains distinct areas of neurogenesis that potentially contribute to the proper functioning of neural circuits. One of these niches, the subependymal zone (SEZ), also commonly referred to as subventricular zone, harbors neural stem cells (NSCs) that, in rodents, generate new neurons that migrate to the olfactory bulb under physiological conditions (Kriegstein and Alvarez-Buylla, 2009; Gage and Temple, 2013). To optimally contribute to the function of neural circuits, NSCs must be able to sense signals arising locally within the SEZ niche or from distant brain regions and respond by adjusting the balance between proliferation and quiescence. Quiescent NSCs lay dormant, but poised for cell division, until transitioning to activated NSCs, which generate transitamplifying progenitors. Transient-amplifying progenitors undergo several rounds of proliferation before differentiating into neuroblasts, which, in turn, become immature neurons (Doetsch et al., 1999). Maintenance of stem cell pools and therefore normal neural function depends on
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