Early embryology; making nerve networks (Introduction)

by David Turell , Tuesday, May 19, 2015, 14:39 (3476 days ago) @ David Turell

Neurons guide each other:-http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-05-nerve-cells.html-
"When nerve cells form in an embryo they don't start off in the right place but have to be guided to their final position by navigating a kind of molecular and cellular "map" in order to function properly. In a recent research study published in Nature Communications, neurobiologist Sara Wilson of Umeå University found that during embryonic development different parts of the nerve cell are important for guiding other nerve cells into their physical positions.
 
"'We found nerve cells do this in two ways, either acting as barriers preventing cell bodies to move further than they need to, or by acting as guides opening a corridor that the cell bodies can travel along", she says.-"The nervous system is analogous to a biological "computer" with different nerve cells forming connections that continuously send neural information around the spinal cord, brain and body and back again. Each nerve cell has a kind of "GPS coordinate" and exactly where nerve cells are physically located is very important so they can connect correctly with other nerve cells.-*****-"'This means the axons from some nerve cells are influencing the position of the cell bodies of other nerve cells meaning that the nerve cells are creating a "map" for other nerve cells to find their way" Sara Wilson says.-"'This is the first time that axons have been shown to act as barriers and it could have important implications for understanding how the nervous system forms in all animals, including humans" Sara Wilson concludes.-"Overall, this work and other work from the group focuses on understanding the mechanisms (genetic, cellular and molecular) of how the precise "anatomy" of the nervous system first forms and how that influences neuronal function and dysfunction. This basic science research has important medical implications for understanding the cause of some neurodevelopmental disorders: For example do the genes that are associated with such disorders generally control cell body guidance and is that what leads to dysfunction?"
-Raises dhw's issue of cell cooperation; under gene control or independent cell cooperation?