The cells of the nervous system go through many changes as the develop, and many factors control their development. Individual cells are born in one region but must then migrate to another region where development continues. As cells develop, they extend processes or axons to make connections with other cells of the nervous system. A cell also receives axonal connections from other neurons. It has been suggested that projections from neurons in the eye influence the development of cells with which they connect in visual centers in the brain such as the tectum. The goal of this project is to determine how cell-cell interactions influence the birth, migration, and maturation of individual cells. Individual cells in the optic tectum will be labeled with fluorescent dyes, and the cells will be followed with video microscopy as they proceed through development. Subsequently, the environment of the tectal cells will be manipulated by unilateral enucleation. In these altered embryos, the tectal cells will not receive the normal contacts from the retina. Using the normal data as a reference, labeled cells in the tectum will be analyzed to determine precisely the aspects of development that are affected by interactions with projections from the eye. The aim of this research is to provide an integrated description in real time earliest dynamic processes involved in the development of the visual system.***//
