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Axon and dendritic guidance is the biological process by which growing axons and dendrites orient and navigate to their targets during the development of the nervous system. Axon and dendritic guidance determines synaptic connectivity and is regulated by fixed or diffusible extracellular molecules as well as factors intrinsic to the neuron.
Connectome reconstructions across multiple species reveal that the morphology of axonal projections is highly variable, even between neurons of the same location or subtype. In this Review, Richards et al. discuss the implications of this for interareal communication and for functional network plasticity in both the healthy brain and following brain injury.
Distinct neuron subtypes compartmentalize specific functions by differentially localizing and translating specific RNAs. This work identifies dynamic subtype- and stage-specific growth cone molecular machinery during neocortical circuit development.
This study identifies Vap33 as a secreted cue that activates Eph–Vav–Cdc42 signaling in motoneurons, linking developmental dendrite growth with disease pathways in ALS.
Transcriptomic screening identifies pairs of cell-surface proteins that mediate repulsive interactions between axons and dendrites of non-cognate partner neurons, thereby contributing to correct synaptic partner matching.
In Drosophila, changing the expression of a small set of cell-surface proteins in just one type of olfactory neuron rewires its connections almost entirely to a new postsynaptic partner neuron type, altering the fly’s odour response and courtship behaviour.
The use of transcriptomic technologies has led to advances in our understanding of thalamocortical targeting during development. In this Review, Guillamón-Vivancos et al. discuss these advances in the context of how transcriptomic changes and neuronal activity work in concert to drive sensory modality specificity during the development of thalamic sensory nuclei.
In zebrafish, pioneer axons of the dorsal root ganglia require the release of synaptic-like vesicles to enter the spinal cord, suggesting that synaptic vesicles have a role in circuit formation ahead of synaptogenesis.
During nervous system development, secretion of netrin 1 from both the floorplate and the ventricular zone is shown to be important for guidance of commissural axons towards the ventral midline of the spinal cord.
Species-dependent regulation of plexin A1 signalling may underlie the elimination and retention of cortico–motor neuronal contacts in developing mice and in developing primates, respectively.
