Abstract
The CNS must be wired correctly if it is to work properly. The wiring up of synaptic connections can be divided into three distinct phases: axon extension, synapse formation, and synapse selection (the maintenance or elimination of formed synapses). As in histogenesis, the formation and maintenance of connections in the nervous system is thought to depend upon a variety of adhesion, tropic, trophic, and recognition processes. Many of these molecular guide-ons for axonal growth are the products of astrocytes, suggesting that to a large extent, axons steer by the “stars.” Let’s examine axon growth and how these molecular factors regulate the three phases of synapse formation.
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© 1996 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Beckstead, R.M. (1996). The Formation and Modification of Connections. In: A Survey of Medical Neuroscience. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8570-5_31
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8570-5_31
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-0-387-94488-3
Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-8570-5
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