title: Global and local mechanisms of forebrain and midbrain patterning.
abstract: During the past years, major advances have been made in understanding the sequential events involved in neural plate patterning. Positional information is already conferred to cells of the neural plate at the time of its induction in the ectoderm. The interplay between the BMP- and the Fgf- signaling pathways leads to the induction of neural cell fates. Thus, neural induction and neural plate patterning are overlapping processes. Later, at the end of gastrulation, positional cell identities within the neural plate are refined and maintained by the action of several neural plate organizers. By locally emitting signaling molecules, they influence the fate of the developing nervous system with high regional specificity. Recent advances have been made both in understanding the mechanisms that dictate the relative position of these organizers and in how signaling molecules spread from them with high spatial and temporal resolution.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Center, University of Technology Dresden, Tatzberg 47-51, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Muriel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rhinn
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Picker
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brand
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning / Q000502:physiology*; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000502:physiology; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors / Q000502:physiology; D005775:Gastrula / Q000502:physiology; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development*; D016548:Prosencephalon / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D005346:Fibroblast Growth Factors