The development of nerve cell connections

Abstract

Attempts to account for the origins of precisely-patterned neural circuits have prompted extensive investigations since the turn of the century. Cell surface cues, involving molecules of the plasma membrane, influence the gross patterning of axon growth. After synapses are established, activity patterns and effects of neurotransmitters are important in reshuffling and achieving greater precision of nerve connections. Developing visual neural circuits are particularly convenient for experimental analysis. Such experiments have yielded important insights concerning one subclass of excitatory amino acid receptors that is critically involved in establishing the ultimate precision of these circuits; the potential significance of a single receptor system whose function is tied directly to sprouting and synaptogenetic ability in the vertebrate CNS is likely to be extensive. © 1990 by the American Society of Zoologist.