defects in dendritic growth and synapse formation during both embryonic and adult neurogenesis (Ge et al., 2007; Platel et al., 2010). Among intrinsic regulators of adult neurogenesis, Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1) controls multiple aspects of neuronal development (Ming and Song, 2009). DISC1 knockdown (KD) by short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) accelerates the tempo of adult hippocampal neurogenesis, resulting in premature cell cycle exit of neural progenitors (Mao et al., 2009) and precocious dendritic development of newborn neurons (Duan et al., 2007). Adult-born neurons with DISC1 KD also exhibit soma hypertrophy, ectopic primary dendrites, and aberrant positioning (Duan et al., 2007). It is unclear whether the role of DISC1 is conserved in early postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis.
