Many genes that affect axon pathfinding and cell migration have been identified. Mechanisms by which these genes and the molecules they encode interact with one another in pathways and networks to control developmental events are unclear. Rac GTPases, the cytoskeletal signaling molecule Enabled, and NIK kinase have all been implicated in regulating axon pathfinding and cell migration. Here we p...

The mechanisms of hypoxic injury to the developing human brain are poorly understood, despite being a major cause of chronic neurodevelopmental impairments. Recent work in the invertebrate Caenorhabditis elegans has shown that hypoxia causes discrete axon pathfinding errors in certain interneurons and motorneurons. However, it is unknown whether developmental hypoxia would have similar effects ...

New Ideas In Pathfinding

The corpus callosum, composed of callosal axons, is the largest structure among commissural connections in eutherian animals. Axon pathfinding of callosal neurons has been shown to be guided by intermediate targets, such as midline glial structures. However, it has not yet been understood completely how axon-axon interactions, another major mechanism for axon pathfinding, are involved in the pa...

This paper presents a study of the influence of emotions on the behaviour of an intelligent pathfinding agent. A model of pathfinding is proposed that takes into account the emotional state of the agent. Results show that blindly following the most urgent emotion can lead to degenerate behaviour, and that cross-exclusion can be used to effectively moderate emotional influences. Applications of ...

Nicotine exposure during embryonic stages of development can affect many neurodevelopmental processes. In the developing zebrafish, exposure to nicotine was reported to cause axonal pathfinding errors in the later born secondary motoneurons (SMNs). These alterations in SMN axon morphology coincided with muscle degeneration at high nicotine concentrations (15-30 μM). Previous work showed that th...