Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Lamina-specific Axon Targeting
- 1Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California 94305
- 2Department of Physiology, University of California, San Francisco, Programs in Neuroscience, Genetics, and Developmental Biology, San Francisco, California 94158-2324
- Correspondence: herwig.baier{at}ucsf.edu
Abstract
The specificity of synaptic connections is directly related to the functional integrity of neural circuits. Long-range axon guidance and topographic mapping mechanisms bring axons into spatial proximity of target cells and thus limit the number of potential synaptic partners. Synaptic specificity is then achieved by extracellular short-range guidance cues and cell-surface recognition cues. Neural activity may enhance the precision and strength of specific circuit connections. Here, we focus on one of the final steps of synaptic matchmaking: the targeting of synaptic layers and the mutual recognition of axons and dendrites within these layers.
Footnotes
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Editors: Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Alex L. Kolodkin
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Additional Perspectives on Neuronal Guidance available at www.cshperspectives.org
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