Growth and Differentiation of the Nervous System
The nervous system is formed of specialized cells called neurons that use electrical and chemical signals to carry information to and away from the brain. Neurons contact each other, and other tissues, at a specialized region of the cell called a synapse. There, chemicals called neurotransmitters are released by one neuron and received by the other. Long, thin regions of the neuron that carry information from a distant location to the neuronal cell body are called axons and dendrites. Neurons connect to, or inner-vate, every type of tissue in the body, including bones, skin, organs, and muscles. The information they carry allows organisms to sense the world, think, react, and maintain body function. Normal growth and development of the nervous system is necessary for forming a normal organism.
Genetic Basis of Development
Many of the accepted underlying mechanisms for nervous system development were discovered through research on organisms such as the frog, the fruit fly, and the nematode worm. The results of this research are valid even for human development because of a type of gene called the Hox genes. These genes are remarkably similar in nearly all animals, as well as plants and yeast.
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