Over the last few years, an explosion of information has emerged as a result of the use of molecular biological probes to investigate the genetic control of pattern formation during early mouse embryonic brain development. In order to understand more fully the development of the nervous system, molecular neuroscientists need to discover genes that are active during the complex cascade of events that culminate in the heterogeneous organs of the mature nervous system from simple epithelial cells that appear at early embryonic stages. Genes that are active during neural development (as measured by mRNA expression and immunostaining of unique proteins) must be identified within the structural heterogeneity of the developing and maturing nervous system. In order to do this, the bench molecular scientist must be proficient in the identification of structures in the developing nervous system. Since few molecular biologists have studied the anatomy and morphology of the mature nervous system, and practically none have studied brain morphogenesis, it is likely that most are not able to accurately identify structures in the developing brain. Clearly, a comprehensive chemotectonic mouse brain atlas is needed that will provide these scientists with the information they require to fully understand the results of their experiments. Much molecular research in neural development is based in mouse, especially knockout, mutant and transgenic mice. This is why an atlas of the developing chemotectonics (ultimately, a measure of heterogeneous genetic expression) of the developing mouse brain is also needed. The identifications will simply be easier if the atlas is based in the same brain as the most often model (mouse) being studied. We are currently producing a chemotectonic brain atlas of the developing mouse brain. It will be a color atlas which will include brain photos and schematics (E11 to newborn) of dopamine, serotonin, AChE (cholinergic), calretinin, calbindin, containing nerves. Our long term intention is to apply this knowledge to subsequent experiments whereby we will study the effects of a variety of drugs that are used during pregnancy, that may alter fetal development of the brain. The atlas is expected to have a profound impact for those actively engaged in studying the developing embryonic brain.
