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From the editors

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 7, page 829 (2006)Cite this article

Understanding the developmental events that give rise to the huge diversity of cell types found in the vertebrate nervous system is a key challenge for neurobiologists and might provide information about how to reiterate these processes in regenerative efforts. It is increasingly being recognized that a limited number of signalling pathways are utilized at different stages and across different regions of the developing nervous system to control these cell fate decisions.

The detection of sound, balance and acceleration rely on the precise spatial arrangement of various specific cell types in the sensory epithelia of the inner ear, all of which are derived from a single region of the ectoderm. The inner ear therefore provides a useful system in which to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive cell specification. Kelley's review (page 837) provides a comprehensive account of our current understanding of the extrinsic factors and signalling pathways involved in regulating the progressive restriction of cells to sensory cell fates, many of which are likely to be conserved in other sensory organs and parts of the nervous system, and outlines the remaining issues that need to be resolved.

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From the editors. Nat Rev Neurosci 7, 829 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2025

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