1st Edition
Wiring the Nervous System: Mechanisms of Axonal and Dendritic Remodelling in Health and Disease
This book examines recent key findings on the mechanisms of axonal and dendritic remodeling in different model organisms. Each chapter is contributed by a panel of experts in their respective subfields of neurosciences, to provide and discuss the latest discoveries ranging from neuronal morphogenesis during development, experience-dependent structural plasticity, to neuronal degeneration, regeneration, and pathologies in neurological disorders.
The process of neuronal remodeling, specifically their axons and dendrites, is essential for the proper wiring of the nervous system during early development and continues during postnatal ages to shape the pattern of synaptic connections throughout the life of the organism, including humans. Over recent years, substantial progress has been made in our understanding of the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control neuronal remodeling. In addition, there is accumulating evidence demonstrating how the nervous system could remodel in response to injury and in pathological conditions.
Topics discussed in the book include:
- Axonal degeneration during development and in pathological or disease conditions
- Neuronal morphogenesis (axons and dendrites)
- Experience-dependent structural plasticity to synaptogenesis
- Dendrite degeneration and regeneration
Part I
1. Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Axon Morphogenesis
2. Experience-dependent Structural Plasticity in Dendrite Development: Emerging Common Themes Across Model Systems
3. Out with the Old, in with the New: Dendrite Degeneration and Regeneration
Part II
4. Constructing by Disposing: Regulation of Neuronal Morphogenesis by Phagocytosis
5. Molecular Underpinnings of Developmental Axon Degeneration
6. Mechanisms of Pathological Axonal Degeneration
7. Roles of mRNA Axonal Localization and Translation in
Neurodegenerative Diseases
Biography
Born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Dr. Tracy S. Tran earned her B.Sc. degree (with cum laude) in Neuroscience, M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees (with summa cum laude) in Physiological Sciences and Molecular, Cellular & Integrative Physiology, respectively, from the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) with Dr. Patricia E. Phelps. Dr. Tran conducted her postdoctoral training in The Solomon H. Synder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with Drs. Alex Kolodkin and David Ginty. Currently, Dr. Tran is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Rutgers University, NJ, USA and the Director of the Undergraduate Program in Biology. Dr. Tran studies the molecular and cellular mechanisms controlling neuronal morphogenesis and wiring of the mammalian nervous system. Her research investigates the molecular signaling involved in how neurons assume their diverse morphologies, the axons and dendrites, which enables the assembly of neural circuits required for complex behavior and cognitive function. Moreover, her lab is interested in better understanding and identifying the molecular and genetic correlates of developmental neurological disorders, such as autism spectrum disorder.
Born in Jerusalem, Israel, Dr. Avraham Yaron earned a B.Sc. degree (with cum laude) in Biology from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and a Ph.D. degree (with summa cum laude) from Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School’s Department of Immunology with Dr. Yinon Ben-Neriah, and conducted postdoctoral training with Dr. Marc Tessier-Lavigne. Dr. Yaron is currently a faculty member and incumbent of the Jack & Simon Djanogly Professorial Chair in Biochemistry in the Weizmann Institute. Dr. Yaron studies the mechanisms by which the wiring of the nervous system is established during development. His research concentrates on two aspects of the wiring process: the operation of chemical cues that guide axons to their targets, and the mechanisms that govern the elimination of certain axons during fetal development, a process termed axonal pruning. Moreover, his lab explores the functional and behavioral outcomes of miswiring, and examining how genetic wiring programs are modulated by experience.
