A time-lapse and quantitative modelling analysis of neural stem cell motion in the absence of directional cues and in electric fields.

The authors studied migration of neural stem cell (NSC) migration with time-lapse and quantitative modelling methods. Using time-lapse imaging, the author analyzed the NSC mode of migration. Electric fields suppressed the formation of protrusions oriented toward the anode, suggesting that restriction of protrusions. The authors generated a model of NSC migration with only two key parameters, the probability that a cell will change direction and the probabilities for each of the directions the cell can take. This model can accurately reproduce experimental migration patterns.