Let’s start with the basics, hopefully you’ve heard of the Dev Neuro Academy but what is developmental neurobiology? It’s probably got to do with development of the brain, right? I asked King’s College researcher Richard Wingate to explain to me the origins and definition of developmental neurobiology, here’s what I found out.
This field has it’s beginnings in the 1880s which puts us firmly in the Victorian era. At this time electric lighting was being installed for the first time in streets, whilst most houses were still lit by candles and oil lamps. Meanwhile, advancements in microscope technology as well as new cell staining and fixing techniques allowed brain cells to be studied more clearly.
Scientists of the time were now able to observe the way that neurons form connections. They observed how axons seem to search for nearby cells to connect to. Spanish scientist Ramόn y Cajal discovered the growth cone, found at the tip of dendrites or axons. The growth cone was hypothesised to be feeling and sensing, which was an impressive hypothesis given the rudimentary microscope that Cajal had to work with.These key concepts – that neurones extend and seek out other neurones to connect to – formed the basis of developmental neurobiology. In fact, after these discoveries in the 1800s, not a lot changed for many years afterwards.
In the 1990s another wave of new technology allowed brains to be scanned plus advancements in genetics allowed us to look at brain cells in a different way. Richard explained how with every bit of new technology, we get a different lens to look at the way the brain develops, and with that, new questions arise as we see things we could not see before. The knowledge gained about how the nervous system develops from the field of developmental neurobiology, allows a foundation to learn more about how the brain functions and what happens when these processes don’t function properly.
In short (and in answer to this blog question) developmental neurobiology explores how the nervous system is formed, from early embryonic stages through to adulthood. By understanding the mechanisms that control brain development we can begin to understand how deviations from the normal plan lead to disease.
This image is a trace of bundles of nerve fibres. It was made using a modern MRI technique called diffusion tensor imaging. Credit: Thomas Schultz, Wikimedia commons.