In a comparison of embryonic brain expression patterns of lysophosphatidic acid and sphingosine 1‐phosphate receptor genes (lpa_1–3 and s1p_1–5 , respectively), transcripts detected by Northern blot were subsequently localized using in situ hybridization. We found striking s1p₁ expression adjacent to several ventricles. Near the lateral ventricle, s1p₁ expression was temporally and spatially coincident with neurogenesis and overlapped with lpa₁ in the neocortical area. We also observed a widespread diffuse pattern for lpa_2–3 and a scattered punctate pattern for s1p_1–3 . The punctate pattern colocalized with vascular endothelial markers. Together, these results suggest that s1p₁ influences neurogenesis and s1p_1–3 influence angiogenesis in the developing brain.