DEVELOPMENTAL NEUROBIOLOGY

Abstract

As subsequent chapters will describe, the vertebrate nervous system is necessarily complex. However, this belies its humble beginnings, segregating relatively early as a plate of cells in the dorsal ectoderm of the embryo. This process of segregation, termed neural induction, occurs as a result of instructive cues within the embryo and is described in this chapter. Once induced, the neural plate, in most vertebrates, rolls into a tube during a process known as neurulation. This tube is then later elaborated to form the central nervous system. In this chapter, we describe the model for how ectodermal cells become committed to a neural fate, and the studies that have led to this model. We will then review the mechanisms by which the induced neural ectoderm rolls up to form the neural tube.