New Aspects of Axonal Structure and Function

For any neuronal cell type, axons are unique neuronal output elements that display very heterogeneous patterns with respect to shape, length, and target structure. New Aspects of Axonal Structure and Function summarizes recent findings covering morphological, physiological, developmental, computational, and pathophysiological aspects of axons. The book covers new findings concerning axonal structure and functions together with their implications for signal transduction in the nervous system. The book also describes the processes implicated in the formation of axonal arbors and the transport of subcellular elements to their targets. Finally, New Aspects of Axonal Structure and Function also shows how a dysfunction in one or several of these steps could lead to axonal degeneration and ultimately to neurodegenerative diseases.

A summary of recent findings covering the morphological, physiological, developmental, computational and pathophysiological aspects of axons, this volume covers new findings concerning axonal structure and functions and assesses their implications.

PrefaceForewordPart I: Axons in development1. Molecular Aspects of Commissural Axon GuidanceVera Niederkofler and Esther T. Stoeckli2. Subplate and the formation of the earliest cerebral cortical circuitsZoltán Molnár, Wei Zhi Wang, Maria Carmen Piñon, Shinichi Kondo, Franziska Oeschger and Anna Hoerder-SaubedissenPart II: Axonal function3. Sodium signals and their significance for axonal functionTony Kelly and Christine R. Rose4. New insights in information processing in the axonDominique Debanne and Sami Boudkkazi5. Electrical coupling of axonsGunnar Birke, Dietmar Schmitz and Andreas Draguhn6. To myelinate or not to myelinate?Quan Wen and Dmitri B. ChklovskiiPart III: Axons and neuronal circuits7. An axonal perspective on cortical circuitsTom Binzegger, Rodney J. Douglas, and Kevan A. C. Martin8. Axonal projections as predictors of neuronal connectivityMoritz Helmstaedter and Dirk Feldmeyer9. The axon of excitatory neurons in the neocortex: Projection pat-terns and target specificityJoachim H.R. Lübke and Dirk FeldmeyerPart IV: Axons and degeneration/regeneration10. Axon degeneration: Mechanisms and consequencesLucy J. Broom and V. Hugh Perry11. Regeneration after CNS lesion: Help from the immune system?Sven Hendrix and Robert Nitsch