NEURON DEATH IN CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

神经元通常过度产生，随后在早期死亡。 发展 我们建议调查这种生产过剩和死亡， 哺乳动物的视网膜和视觉皮层，以确定哪些因素 有助于神经元的存活 在视网膜中，我们将确定 一个神经元产生的那一天可以预测它的可能性和时间。 死亡，使用胸苷放射自显影。 对于视觉皮层， 确定它的细胞板层是否对输入和靶向缺失有反应， 就像其他神经结构一样，目的是 确定形态学和细胞数量的局部变化是如何施加的 新皮层的总体计划。 最后，我们将联系的时间， 建立视觉结构与图案之间的联系 细胞死亡。 在所有情况下，我们将量化 在早期脑发育中观察到的细胞变性， 我们的操纵 总之，我们建议研究早期控制 一个神经元的存活，并使用有关早期模式的信息 神经元死亡，以告知我们建立的机制， 大脑发育中的有序连接 这项工作将直接 与我们理解的性质和原因的相关性， 人类大脑在围产期损伤后的重组。

Neurons are normally overproduced and subsequently die in early development. We propose to investigate this overproduction and death in the mammalian retina and visual cortex, to determine what factors contribute to a neuron's survival. In the retina, we will determine if the day a neuron is generated can predict the likelihood and timing of its death, using thymidine autoradiography. For the visual cortex, we will determine if its cellular laminae respond to input and target deletions in the same way other neural structures have been shown to, with the goal of determining how local variations in morphology and cell number are imposed on the general neocortical plan. Finally, we will relate the timing of establishment of connections to and from visual structures to the pattern of cell death. In all cases, we will be quantifying the amount of observable cellular degeneration in early brain development consequent to our manipulations. In sum, we propose to investigate the early control of a neuron's survival and use the information about the patterns of early neuron death to inform us about the mechanisms of the establishment of orderly connections in the developing brain. This work will have direct relevance for our understanding of the nature of, and the reasons for, reorganization of the human brain following perinatal damage.