This document summarizes recent findings on the mechanisms that govern neuronal migration during development. It discusses:
1) Neuronal migration involves leading process dynamics and somal translocation that allow neurons to move through the brain. Different neuron types adjust this process depending on their migratory pathway.
2) Real-time imaging has revealed distinct leading process morphologies in different neuron types that influence their directional guidance. Tangentially migrating neurons display more elaborate branching than radially migrating pyramidal cells.
3) Guidance cues influence the branching and orientation of leading processes to allow rapid changes in migratory direction without reorienting existing branches. This is a different mechanism than growth cone steering in axon guidance