Required for centrosome duplication and formation and function of the mitotic spindle. Essential for the development of the cerebral cortex. May regulate the production of neurons by controlling the orientation of the mitotic spindle during division of cortical neuronal progenitors of the proliferative ventricular zone of the brain. Orientation of the division plane perpendicular to the layers of the cortex gives rise to two proliferative neuronal progenitors whereas parallel orientation of the division plane yields one proliferative neuronal progenitor and a post-mitotic neuron. A premature shift towards a neuronal fate within the progenitor population may result in an overall reduction in the final number of neurons and an increase in the number of neurons in the deeper layers of the cortex.
