title: Contact is repulsive, but please note the "enclosed".
abstract: Previous models of neuronal dendrite arborization suggested that contact-dependent self-avoidance between dendrite branches prevents self-crossings within the arbor. Two papers in Neuron show how integrin-mediated adhesion to the extracellular matrix restricts dendrites to a two-dimensional space to optimize this mechanism (Han et al., 2012; Kim et al., 2012).
authors.affiliation: The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, ME 04609, USA. robert.burgess@jax.org
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.forename: Andrew M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Garrett
authors.forename: Abigail L D
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Tadenev