Neural Development and Plasticity - Neurulation

1. Neurulation refers to the folding process in vertebrate embryos, which includes the transformation of the neural plate into the neural tube.
2. A key developmental structure that serves as the basis for the nervous system, the neural plate forms through the thickening and flattening of ectodermal tissue opposite the primitive streak in the embryo.
3. The neural groove is a shallow median groove of the neural plate between the neural folds of an embryo.
4. Neural folds are derived from the neural plate, a preliminary structure consisting of elongated ectoderm cells. They give rise to neural crest cells, as well as bring about the formation of the neural tube.
5. Neural crest cells are a transient, multipotent, migratory cell population unique to vertebrates that gives rise to a diverse cell lineage including melanocytes, craniofacial cartilage and bone, smooth muscle, peripheral and enteric neurons and glia.
6. The embryonic precursor to the central nervous system, the neural tube forms by the neural groove gradually deepening as the neural folds become elevated and coalesce in the middle line.
7. The alar plate is a neural structure in the embryonic nervous system, part of the dorsal side of neural tube. The caudal part later becomes sensory axon part of the spinal cord.
8. The basal plate is the region of the neural tube extending from the rostral mesencephalon to the end of the spinal cord and contains primarily motor neurons, whereas neurons found in the alar plate are primarily associated with sensory functions.