DescriptionMicroRNAs are key regulators of biological processes. In this thesis we identify mir-9 as a critical regulator during NSC proliferation and neuronal differentiation. Interestingly the role of mir-9 in NSCs differs depending on our experimental model. In a rat multipotential NSC, exogenous expression of mir-9 alone can enhance their neurogenic capacity. Meanwhile, in human NSCs mir-9 plays a role in NSC maintenance. These results either suggest that the role of mir-9 is not conserved across species or most likely that mir-9 can exert different cellular functions depending on the cellular context. In H1 NSCs subpopulations of cells expressing different combinations of proliferation and/or differentiation markers in cultures of neuronal differentiating cells were identified. The combined expression of differentiating and proliferating markers is a clear indication that differentiation is a “fluid” process that requires multiple overlapping steps to reach a specific phenotype. In addition, we identified OC2 as an anti-neuronal gene. Its mRNA is associated with the RISC complex during NSC neuronal differentiation where mir-9 serves to reduce OC2 protein output. These data together show that mir-9 serves to regulate NSCs in a context dependent manner and that it can canalyze neuronal differentiation by inhibiting genes that would prevent or retard neuronal differentiation.