Insight in the physiopathology of the developing brain: prenatal imaging and experimental models

This phD research line has been developed into 3 branches as follows: - the main part (A) focused on a specific aspect of the ventral induction and its failure: the developing cerebellum, with a special insight in the midline structures of the posterior fossa. This main part explores the diagnostic potentialities of prenatal imaging such as ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which, thanks to the ongoing technical and scientific progress, have evolved from almost exclusively experimental examinations to clinically important tools, which impact decision making in the field of pre- and perinatal medicine; - the second part (B) has been dedicated to the prenatal ultrasonographic imaging of neuronal migration, with special attention to the growing fetal cortex, whose fissures and sulci mark progressively its development throughout gestation; - an ancillary part (C) has dealt with experimental translational stem cell research in acquired fetal brain injuries. This is a currently ongoing project, including in-vitro experiments as well as in- vivo-transplantation of stem cells and stem cell derivates for peripartum neuro-regeneration in an experimental model. Only the little contribution of this thesis to this ongoing project has here briefly reported.