Chapter 12 Axon-Target Cell Interactions in the Developing Auditory System

Abstract

Publisher Summary A number of significant developmental interactions between axons and their targets have been identified: for example, the role of afferent axons in shaping dendritic trees has been most clearly revealed for the Purkinje and basket/stellate neurons of the cerebellum, and the influence of target cells on neuronal survival has been studied most extensively in the chick spinal cord. Developmental regulation of the number of afferent axons converging on a target neuron has been most frequently examined in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), and the contributions of sensory experience to brain development have largely been revealed by work on the visual system of the cat. To obtain a more comprehensive view of these processes and their interrelationships, this chapter examines a variety of interactions between axons and their targets during the early life of certain auditory neurons in the avian brain stem. The striking structural and functional specializations of brain stem auditory neurons make them attractive subjects for studies of cellular interactions during the development of the central nervous system (CNS). The developing brain stem auditory nuclei of the chick embryo, in particular, are remarkable for the relative simplicity of their organization and their accessibility to the experimenter. The chapter presents the results of experimental studies involving the avian auditory system and summarizes recent work on its normal organization and development.