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Axons are neuronal output elements and are responsible for the transfer and processing of signals from one neuron to another, even over very large distances. For a given neuronal cell type, axons are unique and display very heterogeneous patterns with respect to shape, length and target structure. Axons are the usually long process of a nerve fiber that generally conducts impulses away from the body of the nerve cell. This book is intended to summarize recent findings covering morphological, physiological, developmental, computational and pathophysiological aspects of axons. It attempts to cover new findings concerning axonal structure and functions together with their implications for signal transduction, processes implicated in the formation of axonal arbors and the transport of subcellular elements to their targets, and finally how a dysfunction in one or several of these steps could lead to axonal degeneration and ultimately to neurodegenerative diseases.
List of contents
Axons in Development.- Molecular Aspects of Commissural Axon Guidance.- Subplate and the Formation of the Earliest Cerebral Cortical Circuits.- Axonal Function.- Sodium Signals and Their Significance for Axonal Function.- New Insights in Information Processing in the Axon.- Electrical Coupling of Axons.- To Myelinate or Not to Myelinate?.- Axons and Neuronal Circuits.- An Axonal Perspective on Cortical Circuits.- Axons Predict Neuronal Connectivity Within and Between Cortical Columns and Serve as Primary Classifiers of Interneurons in a Cortical Column.- The Axon of Excitatory Neurons in the Neocortex: Projection Patterns and Target Specificity.- Axons and Degeneration/Regeneration.- Axon Degeneration: Mechanisms and Consequences.- Regeneration After CNS Lesion: Help from the Immune System?.
Summary
Axons are neuronal output elements and are responsible for the transfer and processing of signals from one neuron to another, even over very large distances. For a given neuronal cell type, axons are unique and display very heterogeneous patterns with respect to shape, length and target structure. Axons are the usually long process of a nerve fiber that generally conducts impulses away from the body of the nerve cell. This book is intended to summarize recent findings covering morphological, physiological, developmental, computational and pathophysiological aspects of axons. It attempts to cover new findings concerning axonal structure and functions together with their implications for signal transduction, processes implicated in the formation of axonal arbors and the transport of subcellular elements to their targets, and finally how a dysfunction in one or several of these steps could lead to axonal degeneration and ultimately to neurodegenerative diseases.
