Abstract
The death of neurons, often on a large scale and at defined developmental periods, has become recognized as a common feature of normal development. The role that this neuronal death actually plays in the formation of complex neuronal circuits is less well understood, but several major hypotheses, each with supporting experimental evidence, have been proposed: a) neuronal death may serve to match the size of a neuronal population with its target, removing neurons that are unnecessary for normal function but that would be metabolically costly to maintain; b) cells that form inappropriate connections or are otherwise functionally defective may be removed, making circuits more precise; c) in segmental animals, cell death may be used to produce differences between segments after the same iterated program of fixed lineages in each segment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Further reading
Barde Y-A (1989): Trophic factors and neuronal survival factors. Neuron 2:1525–1534
Finlay B, Pallas S (1989): Control of cell number in the developing mammalian visual system. Prog Neurobiol 32:207–234
Oppenheim RW (1989): The neurotrophic theory and naturally occurring motoneuron death. Trends Neurosci 12:252–255
Truman JW (1984): Cell death in invertebrate nervous systems. Annu Rev Neurosci 7:171–188
Williams RW, Herrup K (1989): The control of neuron number. Annu Rev Neurosci 11:423–453
Carlsson A (1978): Mechanism of action of neuroleptic drugs. In: Psychopharmacology: A Generation of Progress, MA Lipton, A Dimascio, KF Killam, eds. New York: Raven Press
Giros B, Sokoloff P, Martres MP, Riou JF, Emorine LJ, Schwartz JC (1989): Alternative splicing directs the expression of two D2 dopamine receptor isoforms. Nature 342:923–926
Kebabian JW, Calne DB (1979): Multiple receptors for dopamine. Nature 277:93–96
Sokoloff P, Giros B, Martres MP, Bouthenet ML, Schwartz JC (1990) Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel dopamine receptor (D3) as a target for neuroleptics. Nature 347:146–151
American Academy of Neurology (1990): Assessment: The clinical usefulness of botulinum toxin-A in treating neurological disorders; Report of the Therapeutics and Technology Assessment Subcommittee Committee of the American Academy of Neurology. (MF Brin, Facilitator of report) Neurology 40:1332–1336
Bressman SB, de Leon D, Brin MF, et al. (1989): Idiopathic torsion dystonia among Ashkenazi Jews: Evidence for autosomal dominant inheritance. Ann Neurol 26:612–620
Brin MF, Blitzer A, Stewart C, Fahn S. Local injections of botulinum toxin for adductor laryngeal dystonia: a review and dose effects. In: Neurological Disorders of the Larynx, Blitzer A, Brin MF, Fahn S, eds. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers (in press)
Brin MF, Fahn S, Blitzer A, Ramig LO. Movement disorders. In: Neurological Disorders of the Larynx, Blitzer A, Brin MF, Fahn S, eds. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers (in press)
Fahn S (1989): Clinical variants of idiopathic torsion dystonia. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry (Special Suppl): 96–100
Jankovic J, Brin MF. Therapeutic applications of botulinum toxin. N Engl J Med (in press)
Kramer PL, Ozelius L, de Leon D, et al. (1990): Dystonia gene in Ashkenazi Jewish population located on chromosome 9q32–34. Ann Neurol 27:114–120
Ozelius L, Kramer PL, Moskowitz CB, et al (1989): Human gene for torsion dystonia located on chromosome 9q32–34. Neuron 2:1427–1434
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Landmesser, L., Sokoloff, P., Brin, M.F. (1992). D. In: Smith, B., Adelman, G. (eds) Neuroscience Year. Supplement Encyclopedia of Neuroscience. Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6754-1_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6754-1_4
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-6756-5
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-6754-1
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive