Lecture 4: Brain Embryology Flashcards
Why is studying brain development important?
a defect in brain development can cause epilepsy, learning disability, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, brain cancer
What is the oldest way of looking at the brain?
pathology
What brain imaging techniques are used when studying brain embryology?
pathology and MRI shows us what happens to the brain development
genetics is useful to understanding what causes the normal and abnormal behavior
What are the genomic methods used when studying brain embryology?
karyotype
CGH
next-generation sequencing
What are the major steps in the development of the brain?
gastrulation
primary neurulation
porencephalic development
neuronal proliferation
neuronal migration
organization
myelination
What is gastrulation?
formation of three layers of cells
endoderm (inside)
mesoderm (middle)
ectoderm (exterior, neuron, skin)
What is neurulation?
neurulation refers to formation of the neural tube from a flat layer of ectodermal cells
What are the important genes in neurulation?
TGF-beta
BMF
Sonic Hedgehog (SHH)
some genes are expressed in dorsal aspect and other in the ventral
SHH is secreted initially from the notochord
What is neural tube closure?
the neural tube needs to close at each extremity
anterior neural pore closure (at the top): 24-25 days
posterior pore closure (at the bottom): 25-28 days
top closes first than bottom
What is anencephaly?
defect of anterior neuropore closure
result in anencephaly
this type of lesion is frequently not compatible with life
What is spina bifida?
failure of closure of the posterior neuropore leads to spina bifida (with various motor defects in the leg of the child)
more likely at the bottom of the spine because it takes longer to close
What is prosencephalic development?
the anterior part of the neural tube splits into 2 prosencephalic vesicles
starts to look more like two hemispheres
What is holoprosencephaly?
failure of cleavage of the 2 hemispheres
lack of separation of the two hemisphere
What genes are associated with holoprosencephaly?
the sonic hedgehog pathway (SHH) pathway
What is the SHH pathway?
the SHH pathways involves the patched and smoothened receptors and the secondary messenger GLI that results in transcription of DNA and proliferation