This is the first book that attempts to bring together what is known about the fundamental mechanisms that underlie the development of the cerebral cortex in mammals. Ranging from the emergence of the forebrain from the neural plate, to the functioning adult form, the book draws on evidence from several species to provide a detailed description of processes at each stage. Where appropriate, evidence is extrapolated from non-mammalian species to generate hypotheses about mammalian development. In contrast to other texts of developmental biology, this book integrates information on regulatory pr ... More

This is the first book that attempts to bring together what is known about the fundamental mechanisms that underlie the development of the cerebral cortex in mammals. Ranging from the emergence of the forebrain from the neural plate, to the functioning adult form, the book draws on evidence from several species to provide a detailed description of processes at each stage. Where appropriate, evidence is extrapolated from non-mammalian species to generate hypotheses about mammalian development. In contrast to other texts of developmental biology, this book integrates information on regulatory processes at the levels of molecules, cells, and networks. It draws together an extensive literature on cellular development and structural morphology, biochemical and genetic events, and hypotheses that have been subject to mathematical modelling. Important methodologies such as transgenics and formal modelling, are explained for the non-specialist. Major future challenges are clearly identified. The book combines the fundamentals of experimental developmental neurobiology with accessible neural modelling.