A new perspective on the development of neural circuits in embryos

It is still not fully understood how undefined cells travel to reach their final location within an embryo and specialize to their specific roles when forming neural circuits. "There are lots of things we're guessing are happening that we don't actually see," commented Yinan Wan, a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus (VA, USA). Therefore, in a recent study published in the journal Cell, Wan and her colleagues tracked the developmental origins, movement and functional activity of all neurons as they formed neural circuits in zebrafish. It took the team 7 years to develop the technology...