Radial glial cell and OPCs can be generated from radial glial cells "in vitro", more evidence is yet needed to conclude whether this process also occurs in the developing brain. Recently, radial glia that exclusively generate upper-layer cortical neurons have also been discovered. Since upper cortical layers have expanded greatly in recent evolution, and are associated with higher-level information processing and thinking, radial glia have been implicated as important mediators of brain evolution. The best characterized and first widely accepted function of radial glia is their role as scaffolds for neuronal migration in the cerebral and cerebellar cortexes. This role can be easily
Radial glial cell period, and differing abilities of radial glia to respond to environmental cues have all been shown to influence the type of radial glia and radial glia-derived daughter cells that will be produced. FGF and Notch signaling regulate the proliferation of radial glia and the rate of neurogenesis, which affects the surface area expansion of the cerebral cortex and its ability to form surface convolutions known as gyri (see gyrification). Radial glial cells show high levels of calcium transient activity, which is transmitted between RGCs in the ventricular zone and along the radial fibers bidirectionally to/from the cortical plate. The calcium