Development of Nervous System Flashcards
What do the following germ layers give rise to?
A) ectoderm
B) mesoderm
C) endoderm
A) skin and NS
B) muscle and CT, skeletal tissue
C) internal linings and internal organs
What happens at 18 days following conception?
The germ disc forms
- 3 layers of cells (endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm)
- Thickening of the ectoderm as the neural plate develops
When does the neural groove develop and what does it consist of?
Day 20, has neural folds which create a neural groove
Name the five phases of brain development, which germ layer gives rise to it?
Ectoderm gives rise to the neural plate
- Neural plate induction
- Neural proliferation
- Migration and aggregation
- Axon growth and synapse formation
- Apoptosis and synapse rearrangement
Which structures form during the neural plate induction stage of brain development?
- Primitive node
- Notochord
- Primitive streak
- NEURAL PLATE
What is neurulation, which stage of brain development is it associated with and when does it begin?
The process of folding/transforming the neural plate into the neural tube, associated with the third stage migration and aggregation when the neural crest cells develop and migrate.
Begins in the 3rd week
How is the ectoderm able to give rise to different things?
The ectoderm will develop into skin exposed to BMP-4 (body morphogenetic protein)
The primitive node secretes BMP-4 antagonists to allow a region of the ectoderm to develop into nerve tissue!
Name three examples of BMP-4 antagonists
Noggin, chordin and follistatin
What happens during the neural proliferation stage of brain development?
Something
What happens during neurulation to produce the final neural tube? What does the lumen form?
As the neural plate wall thickens (due to increased cell population), the thickenings become apparent on the external surface and are called the ‘vesicles’ or ‘primary swelling’s. The brain will develop from the cranial part of the tube and the spine from the caudal part and will give rise to neurones and glial cells
The lumen forms the ventricular system and the central canal
Which somites develop into the future brain and which develop into the future spinal cord?
Future brain: cranial 2/3 of somites (up to the 4th pair)
Future spinal cord: caudal 1/3 of somites (distal to 4th pair)
What are the cranial and caudal neuropores and what sign indicates =that they have failed to develop properly?
The lateral edges of the neural plate touch in the midline and join together, leaving openings at the cranial and caudal end
If neuropores fail to close alpha feto protein increases in the maternal amniotic fluid
When should the cranial and caudal neuropores close?
Cranial: closure at 25th day
Caudal: closer at 27th day
Name the three primary vesicles at the cephalic end of the neural tube
- Prosencephalon = forebrain
- Mesencephalon = midbrain
- Rhombencephalon = hindbrain
What does the prosencephalon differentiate into and which ‘wall structures’ do they give rise to?
Telencephalon - cerebral hemisphere
Diencephalon - thalamus, hypothalamus, epithalamus
What does the rhombencephalon differentiate into and which ‘wall structures’ do they give rise to?
Metencephalon - pons and cerebellum
Myelencephalon - medulla oblongata
What are the two brain flexures in the neural tube? Where are they and when do they begin to differentiate?
4th week
- Cephalic flexure in the mesencephalon (midbrain) region
- Cervical flexure: at the junction of the rhombencephalon (hindbrain) and spinal cord
List the five secondary vesicles that the three primary vesicles give rise to from “cranial-caudal”, when are they complete?
Completed by the 5th week
- Telencephalon
- Diencephalon
- Mesencephalon
- Fourth ventricle
- Rhombencephalon
Name the five adult cavities that derive from each of the five secondary vesicles (including which corresponds with which!)
Telencephalon: lateral ventricles
Diencephalon: third ventricle
Midbrain/Mesencephalon: aqueduct
The rhomboencephalon derivatives give rise to the fourth ventricle:
Metencephalon: upper part of fourth ventricle
Myelencephalon: lower part of fourth ventricle
What is the cerebral aqueduct (formed by the mesencephalon)?
Narrow 15 mm conduit that allows CSF to flow between the third and fourth ventricle
What happens to the neural tube by day 26?
The tube differentiates into two concentric rings; the mantle layer (grey matter; inner) and the marginal layer (white matter; outer)
Describe the three waves that form the two concentric rings in the migration and aggregation stage of brain development
1st wave: neurones migrate to form mantle (Grey) layer
2nd wave: glioblasts (forerunners for glial cells) give rise to oligodendrocytes (myelination) and astrocytes (transport nutrients and waste across BBB)
3rd wave: forms ependymal cells
What do glial cells do?
They are non-neuronal cells in the CNS and PNS (don’t produce electric impulses) but support and protect neurones by produce myelin and maintain homeostasis
Other than the neural tube, where else do the neural crest cells migrate to form? What stage of brain development does this occur?
3rd stage: migration and aggregation
The neural crest cells migrate into
- Pharyngeal arches - which gives rise to structures of the head and neck
- Facial region
Generally, what do the neural crest cells form?
Most of the PNS and CNS; cranial, spinal and autonomic ganglia
What are autonomic ganglia?
Peripheral sites where preganglionic neurons arising from the brain stem and spinal cord form connections with postganglionic neurons