Università Roma Tre

Overview of developmental processes of pluricellular organisms. Germ cell layers. Ectodermal derivation of neural tissue in invertebrates e vertebrates. Specification of neuroectoderm and neurulation process in vertebrates. Primary neurulation: cellular e molecular mechanisms of neural plate, folds, furrow, and tube formation. Secondary neurulation. Neural tube defects in mammals: genetic and environmental causes of anencephaly and spina bifida. Morphogenesis and differentiation of the encephalon and spinal cord. Role of cell death in the morphogenesis of the central nervous system: apoptotic and autophagic pathways. Neural crest: specification and regionalization. Cell migration and differentiation of cephalic, cardiac, trunk, vagal e sacral neural crest. Multipotency e plasticity of neural crest cells. Layering of cortical structures in the cerebrum and cerebellum. Congenital diseseases associated with defects to neuronal migration: the case of peroxisomal disorders. Neural stem cells: neuronal and glial differentiation. Adult neurogenesis in mammals: the subventricular and subgranular zones. The concept of stem cell niche. Regulatory pathways of the neurogenic niche. Neurogenesis and neurodegeneration in the senescent brain. Age-related neurodegenerative diseases: common and specific features. Protein aggregates, role of apoptotic and autophagic pathways, and stem cell-based therapies against neurodegeneration.

Gilbert: "Developmental Biology", Tenth edition, Sinauer Associates, Inc., 2014
Sanes et al.: "Development of the nervous system", Elsevier Inc., 2012