Developmental Neuroscience (ebook)

Argumento de Developmental Neuroscience (ebook)

This textbook offers a concise introduction to the exciting field of developmental neuroscience, a discipline concerned with the mechanisms by which complex nervous systems emerge during embryonic growth. Bridging the divide between basic and clinical research, it captures the extraordinary progress that has been achieved in the field. It provides an opportunity for students to apply and extend what they have learned in their introductory biology courses while also directing them to the primary literature.

This accessible textbook is unique in that it takes an in-depth look at a small number of key model systems and signaling pathways. The book's chapters logically follow the sequence of human brain development and explain how information obtained from models such as Drosophila and zebrafish addresses topics relevant to this area. Beginning with a brief presentation of methods for studying neural development, the book provides an overview of human development, followed by an introduction to animal models. Subsequent chapters consider the molecular mechanisms of selected earlier and later events, neurogenesis, and formation of synapses. Glial cells and postembryonic maturation of the nervous system round out later chapters. The book concludes by discussing the brain basis of human intellectual disabilities viewed from a developmental perspective.

Focusing on the mechanistic and functional, this textbook will be invaluable to biology majors, neuroscience students, and premedical and pre-health-professions students.

• An accessible introduction to nervous system development
• Suitable for one-semester developmental neuroscience course
• Thorough review of key model systems
• Selective coverage of topics allows professors to personalize courses
• Investigative reading exercises at the end of each chapter
• An online illustration package is available to professors

"Written with a rare lucidity and grace, Susan Fahrbach's Developmental Neuroscience offers a systematic and logical account of the development of nerve cells and nervous systems, human and otherwise. The book is lecture friendly and the supplementary reading questions are ideal for college courses. It will be of surpassing interest to professors seeking a current treatment of developmental neuroscience."--Donald Pfaff, Rockefeller University and editor of Neuroscience in the 21st Century

"The words 'delightful textbook' do not often occur together but they describe Developmental Neuroscience to a tee. Susan Fahrbach has an exceptional voice and, coupled with a deep scholarly bent, a keen ability for explaining the importance of developmental phenomena and how we come to understand them. There is much that is new here even for longtime instructors of the subject. This is a truly valuable addition to the field."--Darcy Kelley, Columbia University

"Developmental Neuroscience is an elegantly written take on a subject rooted in classical embryology but now yielding to the contemporary tools of molecular genetics and neuroimaging. Fahrbach's approach is patient and steady, surveying the current state of understanding through humans and different model organisms, with a sensitive ear to the cultural issues and contexts that will inform and motivate students."--David Clayton, Queen Mary, University of London

"This is the ideal textbook for students who want to think about particular big-picture topics and engage with the primary literature. With simple language, good points, interesting anecdotes, big ideas, and nice tie-in questions, the book provides broad brushstrokes on important issues, which then allows students, through guided discussion, to delve into specific developmental processes or signaling pathways."--Christopher Korey, College of Charleston0List of Illustrations xi
Preface xv
Acknowledgments xix
What Are Investigative Reading Questions? xxi
Teaching Using the Primary Literature and Investigative Reading Questions to Complement the Text xxiii

Chapter 1 Introduction

• What Do We Mean When We Say "Neural Development"? 1
  
• What Is in This Book and How to Use It 1
  
• Methods for Studying Development of the Nervous System 3
  
• Human Brain Imaging 17
  
• The Future 19
  
• Notes 20
  
• Investigative Reading 20

Chapter 2 Overview of Nervous System Development in Humans

• How Do We Know What We Know? 23
  
• Start by Working Backward 24
  
• The Carnegie Stages of Embryonic Development 26
  
• Development of the Fetal Brain 31
  
• Neural Tube Defects 33
  
• Notes 34
  
• Investigative Reading 35

Chapter 3 Animal Models

• Model Organisms 37
  
• Some Helpful Concepts for Thinking about Animal Models 38
  
• Practical Considerations 40
  
• The Mouse, Mus musculus 41
  
• The Zebrafi sh, Danio rerio 44
  
• The Fruit Fly, Drosophila melanogaster 48
  
• The Nematode Worm, Caenorhabditis elegans 52
  
• Typical Neurons 55
  
• Gray Matter and White Matter 57
  
• Phylogenetic Relationships 57
  
• Notes 60
  
• Investigative Reading 61

Chapter 4 Early Events

• Axis Determination and Neural Induction 63
  
• Defining Anterior and Making a Head 63
  
• Neural Induction 74
  
• Notes 77
  
• Investigative Reading 79

Chapter 5 Neurogenesis

• Production of Neurons by Neural Progenitors 81
  
• Neurogenesis in C. elegans 83
  
• Neurogenesis in Drosophila 88
  
• Neurogenesis in Zebrafi sh 97
  
• Neurogenesis in the Mouse 99
  
• Neurogenesis in Humans 106
  
• Adult Neurogenesis 110
  
• Notes 116
  
• Investigative Reading 118

Chapter 6 Later Events

• Not All Animals Are Segmented 121
  
• Regionalization in the Drosophila Nervous System 121
  
• Regionalization in the Vertebrate Nervous System 128
  
• Histogenesis of the Mammalian Cortex 135
  
• Notes 140
  
• Investigative Reading 141

Chapter 7 Becoming a Neuron

• Axons, Dendrites, and the Formation of Synapses 143
  
• The Decision to Grow a Process 145
  
• Microtubules, Actin, and Growth Cones 147
  
• Axon Path Finding 152
  
• Synaptogenesis 160
  
• Notes 164
  
• Investigative Reading 166

Chapter 8 Glia

• Glia and Neurons 169
  
• Glia in C. elegans 170
  
• Glia in Drosophila 171
  
• Glia in Zebrafish 176
  
• Glia in Mice 179
  
• Glia in Humans 189<
• Fruit Flies and Glioblastoma 192
  
• Notes 194
  
• Investigative Reading 195

Chapter 9 Maturation

• Growing Up 197
  
• Metamorphosis 197
  
• Adolescence 206
  
• Summary 209
  
• Notes 210
  
• Investigative Reading 211

Chapter 10 Thinking about Intellectual Disability in the Context of Development

• Neuroscience and Intellectual Disability 213
  
• Perturbations of Neuronal Migration 215
  
• Dendritic Abnormalities 219
  
• Neonatal Hypothyroidism 221
  
• Rett Syndrome 222
  
• Fragile X Syndrome 225
  
• Down Syndrome 228
  
• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 231
  
• Nonmammalian Models 234
  
• Reality Check 237
  
• Notes 238
  
• Investigative Reading 239

Abbreviations 241
References 251
Online Resources 271
Full Citations for Investigative Reading Exercises 277
Index 281