Provides a highly visual, readily accessible introduction to the main events that occur during neural development and their mechanisms
Building Brains: An Introduction to Neural Development, 2nd Edition describes how brains construct themselves, from simple beginnings in the early embryo to become the most complex living structures on the planet. It explains how cells first become neural, how their proliferation is controlled, what regulates the types of neural cells they become, how neurons connect to each other, how these connections are later refined under the influence of neural activity, and why some neurons normally die. This student-friendly guide stresses and justifies the generally-held belief that a greater knowledge of how nervous systems construct themselves will help us find new ways of treating diseases of the nervous system that are thought to originate from faulty development, such as autism spectrum disorders, epilepsy, and schizophrenia.
A concise, illustrated guide focusing on core elements and emphasizing common principles of developmental mechanisms, supplemented by suggestions for further reading
Text boxes provide detail on major advances, issues of particular uncertainty or controversy, and examples of human diseases that result from abnormal development
Introduces the methods for studying neural development, allowing the reader to understand the main evidence underlying research advances
Offers a balanced mammalian/non-mammalian perspective (and emphasizes mechanisms that are conserved across species), drawing on examples from model organisms like the fruit fly, nematode worm, frog, zebrafish, chick, mouse and human
Associated Website includes all the figures from the textbook and explanatory movies
Filled with full-colorartwork that reinforces important concepts; an extensive glossary and definitions that help readers from different backgrounds; and chapter summaries that stress important points and aid revision, Building Brains: An Introduction to Neural Development, 2nd Edition is perfect for undergraduate students and postgraduates who may not have a background in neuroscience and/or molecular genetics.
“This elegant book ranges with ease and authority over the vast field of developmental neuroscience. This excellent textbook should be on the shelf of every neuroscientist, as well as on the reading list of every neuroscience student.”
—Sir Colin Blakemore, Oxford University
“With an extensive use of clear and colorful illustrations, this book makes accessible to undergraduates the beauty and complexity of neural development. The book fills a void in undergraduate neuroscience curricula.”
—Professor Mark Bear, Picower Institute, MIT.
Highly Commended, British Medical Association Medical Book Awards 2012
Published with the New York Academy of Sciences
CONTENTS
1 Models and Methods for Studying Neural Development 1
1.1 What is neural development? 1
1.2 Why research neural development? 2
The uncertainty of current understanding 2
Implications for human health 3
Implications for future technologies 4
1.3 Major breakthroughs that have contributed to understanding developmental mechanisms 4
1.4 Invertebrate model organisms 5
Fly 5
Worm 7
Other invertebrates 11
1.5 Vertebrate model organisms 11
Frog 11
Chick 12
Zebrafish 12
Mouse 12
Humans 19
Other vertebrates 20
1.6 Observation and experiment: methods for studying neural development 23
1.7 Summary 24
2 The Anatomy of Developing Nervous Systems 25
2.1 The nervous system develops from the embryonic neuroectoderm 25
2.2 Anatomical terms used to describe locations in embryos 26
2.3 Development of the neuroectoderm of invertebrates 27
C. elegans 27
Drosophila 27
2.4 Development of the neuroectoderm of vertebrates and the process of neurulation 30
Frog 31
Chick 33
Zebrafish 35
Mouse 36
Human 43
2.5 Secondary neurulation in vertebrates 47
2.6 Formation of invertebrate and vertebrate peripheral nervous systems 47
Invertebrates 49
Vertebrates: the neural crest and the placodes 49
Vertebrates: development of sense organs 50
2.7 Summary 52
3 Neural Induction: An Example of How Intercellular Signalling Determines Cell Fates 53
3.1 What is neural induction? 53
3.2 Specification and commitment 54
3.3 The discovery of neural induction 54
3.4 A more recent breakthrough: identifying molecules that mediate neural induction 56
3.5 Conservation of neural induction mechanisms in Drosophila 58
3.6 Beyond the default model – other signalling pathways involved in neural induction 59
3.7 Signal transduction: how cells respond to intercellular signals 64
3.8 Intercellular signalling regulates gene expression 65
General mechanisms of transcriptional regulation 65
Transcription factors involved in neural induction 67
What genes do transcription factors control? 69
Gene function can also be controlled by other mechanisms 71
3.9 The essence of development: a complex interplay of intercellular and intracellular signalling 75
3.10 Summary 75
4 Patterning the Neuroectoderm 77
4.1 Regional patterning of the nervous system 77
Patterns of gene expression are set up by morphogens 78
Patterning happens progressively 80
4.2 Patterning the anteroposterior (AP) axis of the Drosophila CNS 81
From gradients of signals to domains of transcription factor expression 81
Dividing the ectoderm into segmental units 83
Assigning segmental identity – the Hox code 83
4.3 Patterning the AP axis of the vertebrate CNS 86
Hox genes are highly conserved 87
Initial AP information is imparted by the mesoderm 88
Genes that pattern the anterior brain 90
4.4 Local patterning in Drosophila: refining neural patterning within segments 91
In Drosophila a signalling boundary within each segment provides local AP positional information 92
Patterning in the Drosophila dorsoventral(DV) axis 94
Unique neuroblast identities from the integration of AP and DV patterning information 96
4.5 Local patterning in the vertebrate nervous system 97
In the vertebrate brain, AP boundaries organize local patterning 97
Patterning in the DV axis of the vertebrate CNS 99
Signal gradients that drive DV patterning 100
SHH and BMP are morphogens for DV progenitor domains in the neural tube 101
Integration of AP and DV patterning information 103
4.6 Summary 103
5 Neurogenesis: Generating Neural Cells 105
5.1 Generating neural cells 105
5.2 Neurogenesis in Drosophila 106
Proneural genes promote neural commitment 106
Lateral inhibition: Notch signalling inhibits commitment 106
5.3 Neurogenesis in vertebrates 107
Proneural genes are conserved 107
In the vertebrate CNS, neurogenesis involves radial glial cells 111
Proneural factors and Notch signaling in the vertebrate CNS 111
5.4 The regulation of neuronal subtype identity 114
Different proneural genes – different programmes of neurogenesis 114
Combinatorial control by transcription factors creates neuronal diversity 114
5.5 The regulation of cell proliferation during neurogenesis 117
Signals that promote proliferation 117
Cell division patterns during neurogenesis 118
Asymmetric cell division in Drosophila requires Numb 118
Control of asymmetric cell division in vertebrate neurogenesis 121
In vertebrates, division patterns are regulated to generate vast numbers of neurons 122
5.6 Temporal regulation of neural identity 124
A neural cell’s time of birth is important for neural identity 124
Time of birth can generate spatial patterns of neurons 126
How does birth date influence a neurons fate? 128
Intrinsic mechanism of temporal control in Drosophila neuroblasts 128
Birth date, lamination and competence in the mammalian cortex 129
5.7 Why do we need to know about neurogenesis? 133
5.8 Summary 133
6 How Neurons Develop Their Shapes 135
6.1 Neurons form two specialized types
of outgrowth 135
Axons and dendrites 135
The cytoskeleton in mature axons and dendrites 137
6.2 The growing neurite 138
A neurite extends by growth at its tip 138
Mechanisms of growth cone dynamics 139
6.3 Stages of neurite outgrowth 141
Neurite outgrowth in cultured hippocampal neuron 141
Neurite outgrowth in vivo 142
6.4 Neurite outgrowth is influenced by a neuron’s surroundings 143
The importance of extracellular cues 143
Extracellular signals that promote or inhibit neurite outgrowth 143
6.5 Molecular responses in the growth cone 145
Key intracellular signal transduction events 145
Small G proteins are critical regulators of neurite growth 145
Effector molecules directly influence actin filament dynamics 147
Regulation of other processes in the extending neurite 148
6.6 Active transport along the axon is
important for outgrowth 149
6.7 The developmental regulation
of neuronal polarity 149
Signalling during axon specification 149
Ensuring there is just one axon 151
Which neurite becomes the axon? 152
6.8 Dendrites 153
Regulation of dendrite branching 153
Dendrite branches undergo
self]avoidance 154
Dendritic fields exhibit tiling 155
6.9 Summary 156
7 Neuronal Migration 157
7.1 Many neurons migrate long distances during formation of the nervous system 157
7.2 How can neuronal migration be observed? 157
Watching neurons move in living embryos 158
Observing migrating neurons in cultured tissues 158
Tracking cell migration by indirect methods 158
7.3 Major modes of migration 164
Some migrating neurons are guided by a scaffold 164
Some neurons migrate in groups 165
Some neurons migrate individually 168
7.4 Initiation of migration 169
Initiation of neural crest cell migration 170
Initiation of neuronal migration 170
7.5 How are migrating cells guided to their destinations? 170
Directional migration of neurons in C. elegans 171
Guidance of neural crest cell migration 173
Guidance of neural precursors in the developing lateral line of zebrafish 174
Guidance by radial glial fibres 174
7.6 Locomotion 176
7.7 Journey’s end – termination of migration 179
7.8 Embryonic cerebral cortex contains both radially and tangentially migrating cells 182
7.9 Summary 184
8 Axon Guidance 185
8.1 Many axons navigate long and complex routes 185
How might axons be guided to their targets? 185
The growth cone 187
Breaking the journey – intermediate targets 188
8.2 Contact guidance 190
Contact guidance in action: pioneers and followers, fasciculation and defasciculation 191
Ephs and ephrins: versatile cell surface molecules with roles in contact guidance 191
8.3 Guidance of axons by diffusible cues – chemotropism 194
Netrin – a chemotropic cue expressed at the ventral midline 195
Slits 195
Semaphorins 198
Other axon guidance molecules 198
8.4 How do axons change their behavior at choice points? 199
Commissural axons lose their attraction to netrin once they have crossed the floor plate 199
Putting it all together – guidance cues and their receptors choreograph commissural axon pathfinding at the ventral midline 202
After crossing the midline, commissural axons project towards the brain 205
8.5 How can such a small number of cues guide such a large number of axons? 207
The same guidance cues are deployed in multiple axon pathways 208
Interactions between guidance cues and their receptors can be altered by co]factors 208
8.6 Some axons form specific connections over very short distances, probably using different mechanisms 209
8.7 The growth cone has autonomy in its ability to respond to guidance cues 209
Growth cones can still navigate when severed from their cell bodies 209
Local translation in growth cones 210
8.8 Transcription factors regulate axon guidance decisions 211
8.9 Summary 212
9 Life and Death in the Developing Nervous System 215
9.1 The frequency and function of cell death during normal development 215
9.2 Cells die in one of two main ways: apoptosis or necrosis 217
9.3 Studies in invertebrates have taught us much about how cells kill themselves 219
The specification phase 221
The killing phase 221
The engulfment phase 222
9.4 Most of the genes that regulate programmed cell death in C. elegans are conserved in vertebrates 222
9.5 Examples of neurodevelopmental processes in which programmed cell death plays a prominent role 224
Programmed cell death in early progenitor cell populations 224
Programmed cell death contributes to sexual differences in the nervous system 225
Programmed cell death removes cells with transient functions once their task is done 227
Programmed cell death matches the numbers of cells in interacting neural tissues 230
9.6 Neurotrophic factors are important regulators of cell survival and death 232
Growth factors 232
Cytokines 235
9.7 A role for electrical activity in regulating programmed cell death 235
9.8 Summary 237
10 Map Formation 239
10.1 What are maps? 239
10.2 Types of maps 239
Coarse maps 241
Fine maps 242
10.3 Principles of map formation 243
Axon order during development 244
Theories of map formation 245
10.4 Development of coarse maps: cortical areas 246
Protomap versus protocortex 246
Spatial position of cortical areas 247
10.5 Development of fine maps: topographic 248
Retinotectal pathways 248
Sperry and the chemoaffinity hypothesis 250
Ephrins act as molecular postcodes in the chick tectum 252
10.6 Inputs from multiple structures: when maps collide 253
From retina to cortex in mammals 254
Activity]dependent eye]specific segregation: a role for retinal waves 254
Formation of ocular dominance bands 257
Ocular dominance bands form by directed In growth of thalamocortical axons 257
Activity and the formation of ocular dominance bands 259
Integration of sensory maps 260
10.7 Development of feature maps 261
Feature maps in the visual system 261
Role of experience in orientation and direction map formation 263
10.8 Summary 264
11 Maturation of Functional
Properties 265
11.1 Neurons are excitable cells 266
What makes a cell excitable? 266
Electrical properties of neurons 267
Regulation of intrinsic neuronal
physiology 269
11.2 Neuronal excitability during development 271
Neuronal excitability changes dramatically during development 271
Early action potentials are driven by Ca2+, not Na+ 271
Neurotransmitter receptors regulate excitability prior to synapse formation 273
GABAergic receptor activation switches from being excitatory to inhibitory 273
11.3 Developmental processes regulated by neuronal excitability 275
Electrical excitability regulates neuronal proliferation and migration 275
Neuronal activity and axon guidance 277
11.4 Synaptogenesis 277
The synapse 278
Electrical properties of dendrites 278
Stages of synaptogenesis 280
Synaptic specification and induction 281
Synapse formation 285
Synapse selection: stabilization and withdrawal 286
11.5 Spinogenesis 286
Spine shape and dynamics 287
Theories of spinogenesis 289
Mouse models of spinogenesis: the weaver mutant 290
Molecular regulators of spine development 291
11.6 Summary 293
12 Experience]Dependent Development 295
12.1 Effects of experience on visual system development 296
Seeing one world with two eyes: ocular dominance of cortical cells 296
Visual experience regulates ocular dominance 297
Competition regulates experiencedependent plasticity: the effects of darkrearing and strabismus 299
Physiological changes in ocular dominance prior to anatomical changes 301
Cooperative binocular interactions and visual cortex plasticity 304
The timing of developmental plasticity: sensitive or critical periods 305
Multiple sensitive periods in the developing visual system 306
12.2 How does experience change functional connectivity? 307
Cellular basis of plasticity: synaptic strengthening and weakening 309
The time]course of changes in synaptic weight in response to monocular deprivation 310
Cellular and molecular mechanisms of LTP/LTD induction 312
Synaptic changes that mediate the expression of LTP/LTD and experiencedependent plasticity 314 Metaplasticity 318
Spike]timing dependent plasticity 320
12.3 Cellular basis of plasticity: development of inhibitory networks 322
Inhibition contributes to the expression of the effects of monocular deprivation 322
Development of inhibitory circuits regulates the time]course of the sensitive period for monocular deprivation 323
12.4 Homeostatic plasticity 324
Mechanisms of homeostatic plasticity 325
12.5 Structural plasticity and the role of the extracellular matrix 327
12.6 Summary 328
Glossary 329
Index 349
