Gene Expression and Cell-Cell Interactions in the Developing Nervous System, 1984 Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology Series, Vol. 181

The dramatic advances in molecular genetics are becoming incorporated into neurobiologic studies at an ever increasing rate. In developmental neurobiology, the importance of cell­ cell interactions for neurogenesis and gene expression is be­ ginning to be understood in terms of the molecular bases for these interactions. This book seeks to emphasize the importance of molecular technology in the study of neurogenetic mechanisms and to explore the possible relationships between specific cell­ cell interactions and regulated gene expression in the develop­ ing nervous ~stem. This volume consists of nineteen chapters which address ques­ tions of gene expression and the importance of cell-cell interac­ tions as key factors in the developing nervous ~stem. Rather than viewing these two processes as separate mechanisms, as the organi­ zation of these chapters might suggest, we would like to emphasize the interplay of these genetic and epigenetic influences in all phases of neural ontogeny, a concept which is made clear by the subject matter of the contributions themselves. The authors of these chapters were participants in selected ~mposia from the Fourth Congress of the International Society of Developmental Neuroscience held in Salt Lake City, Utah, July 3-7, 1983.

Perspectives.- Molecular Biology of the Nerve Growth Cone: A Perspective.- Regulation of Synapse Formation by Cyclic AMP.- Molecular Genetics and Gene Expression.- Molecular Genetics of Torpedo Marmorata Acetylcholine Receptor.- Genetic Perspectives on Brain Development and Complexity.- Genomic and Phenotypic Expression of Autonomic Neurons.- Molecular Studies of Pituitary Gland Differentiation.- Novel Insulin-related Sequences in Fetal Brain.- Immunology and Embryogenesis: The Chromosomal Editing Hypothesis.- Genetic Control of the Connectivity and Excitability of Cerebellar Purkinje Cells in Rodents.- CNS Hypomyelinated Mutant Mice (Jimpy, Shiverer, Quaking): In Vitro Evidence for Primary Oligodendrocyte Defects.- Effects of Alterations in Cell Size and Number on the Structure and Function of the Xenopus Laevis Nervous System.- Cell-Cell Interactions and Epigenetic Influences.- The Mechanism of Binding of Neural Cell Adhesion Molecules.- Phosphoglucose-Containing Glycoproteins in Intracellular Trafficking and Neuronal Recognition.- New Instrumentation Facilitates the Study of Genes Coding for Molecules Involved in Cell Surface Recognition.- The Influence of Neuronal-Glial Interactions on Glia-Specific Gene Expression in Embryonic Retina.- Neuron-Glia Interactions and Glial Enzyme Expression in Mouse Cerebellum.- Development of GABA-ergic System in Rat Visual Cortex.- Plasticity of the Developing Synapse.- Activity and Competition-Dependent Synapse Repression in Culture.