The role of electric fields in the central nervous system has been previously explored. The axons of embryonic rat hippocampal neurons align perpendicular to the direction of an applied dcEF in an EF strength-dependent manner after 24 hours of exposure, and interestingly, individual growth cones of dendrites, but not axons, SP600125 chemical information undergo cathodal orientation. Xenopus embryo neural tube cells have been shown to elicit EF strength-dependent cathodal turning of neurites, although the direction of neurite growth in response to an applied dcEF varies depending on the substrate adhesiveness and net surface charge; negatively charged substrates such as laminin promote cathodal outgrowth, whereas positively charged substrates such as lysine promote anodal outgrowth, reviewed in. dcEFs also serve to modulate neuronal structure through differential neurite growth rate regulation (anode-facing neurites exhibit significantly slower outgrowth rates compared to cathode-facing neurites), and by enhancing neurite branching (predominantly cathodally). Interestingly, electric field exposure has been reported to impact the differentiation profile of NPCs. In higher strength dcEFs (437 mV/mm) adult rat hippocampal NPCs exhibit a tendency to differentiate into neurons, whereas the differentiation profile of embryonic mouse NPCs encapsulated in alginate hydrogel beads and exposed to lower-strength (1-16 mV/mm) alternating current EFs is dependent on the frequency and duration of stimulation. While these studies investigated the neurite response or differentiation of relatively stationary somata in the presence of a dcEF, we were interested in the entire cell body translocation of NPCs. The findings reported here are similar to those of a recent study by Meng et al., in which they Epoxomicin distributor showed that NPCs derived from an adult rat hippocampal cell line, as well as embryonic rat NPCs, undergo enhanced speed and cathodal directedness of migration in the presence of a dcEF.