Molecular mechanisms of target recognition and subcellular specificity in developing nervous system

杏仁复合体是边缘系统的主要组成部分，在情绪和恐惧记忆中起着重要作用。在发育过程中，杏仁核的轴突投射到终纹床核的不同部位。然而，在很大程度上，人们仍然不知道这些联系是如何在发展过程中形成的。在这里，我们研究了轴突引导分子信号素及其受体网络在杏仁核-BNST网络形成中的作用，发现Sema6A/Plexin-A4信号调节不同的杏仁核投射神经元与其在BNST中的靶点之间的精确连接。

The amygdaloid complex is a principal component of the limbic system with important roles in emotion and fear memory. During development, axons of distinct amygdaloid nuclei project to different parts of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST). However, it remains largely unknown how these connections are formed during development. Here, we examined the role of axon guidance molecule semaphorins and their receptor plexins in the formation of the amygdala-BNST network, and found that Sema6A/plexin-A4 signaling regulates the precise connectivity between the distinct amygdala projection neurons and their targets in the BNST.