Subplate zone (brain)

The transient fetal subplate zone, together with the marginal zone and the cortical plate, represents the developmental anlage of the mammalian cerebral cortex. It serves as a waiting compartment for growing cortical afferents; its cells are involved in the establishment of pioneering cortical efferent projections and transient fetal circuitry, and apparently have a number of other developmental roles. The subplate zone is a phylogenetically recent structure and it is most developed in the human brain.