Neural Development

Abstract

This chapter considers the development of the nervous system, and comprises a brief overview about the use of chicken embryos to understand the molecular basis of axon guidance and neural development. An axon is a long protrusion of a neural cell that serves as an information transmitter. During development axons have to find their way to target cells to form neural circuits, the building blocks of the nervous system. In an artistic corollary, Somabook, attempts to combine audiovisual metaphors and interpretations of a dancer with scientific data about neural circuit formation.