Self-avoidance and Tiling: Mechanisms of Dendrite and Axon Spacing
- 1Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, New York 10032
- 2Department of Molecular, Cell, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California 90095
- Correspondence: sagasti{at}mcdb.ucla.edu and wg2135{at}columbia.edu
Abstract
The spatial pattern of branches within axonal or dendritic arbors and the relative arrangement of neighboring arbors with respect to one another impact a neuron's potential connectivity. Although arbors can adopt diverse branching patterns to suit their functions, evenly spread branches that avoid clumping or overlap are a common feature of many axonal and dendritic arbors. The degree of overlap between neighboring arbors innervating a surface is also characteristic within particular neuron types. The arbors of some populations of neurons innervate a target with a comprehensive and nonoverlapping “tiled” arrangement, whereas those of others show substantial territory overlap. This review focuses on cellular and molecular studies that have provided insight into the regulation of spatial arrangements of neurite branches within and between arbors. These studies have revealed principles that govern arbor arrangements in dendrites and axons in both vertebrates and invertebrates. Diverse molecular mechanisms controlling the spatial patterning of sister branches and neighboring arbors have begun to be elucidated.
Footnotes
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Editors: Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Alex L. Kolodkin
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Additional Perspectives on Neuronal Guidance available at www.cshperspectives.org
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