Vertebrate neuroblasts differentiate from radial glial cells and are committed to becoming neurons.
[5] Neuroblasts are mainly present as precursors of neurons during embryonic development; however, they also constitute one of the cell types involved in adult neurogenesis.
This process occurs in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus and in the subventricular zones of the adult mammalian brain.
[8] In humans, neuroblasts produced by stem cells in the adult subventricular zone migrate into damaged areas after brain injuries.
However, they are restricted to the subtype of small interneuron-like cells, and it is unlikely that they contribute to functional recovery of striatal circuits.
The disorders include, lissencephaly, microlissencephaly, pachygyria, and several types of gray matter heterotopia.
During larval development, optic lobe neuroblasts are generated from a neuroectoderm called the Outer Proliferation Center.
This is the most common form of cell division, and is observed in abdominal, optic lobe, and central brain neuroblasts.
[11] The switch from pluripotent neuroblast to differentiated cell fate is facilitated by the proteins Prospero, Numb, and Miranda.
It is expressed in neuroblasts, but is kept out of the nucleus by Miranda, which tethers it to the cell basal cortex.