A major recurrent form of organisation in the vertebrate CNS are neuronal nuclei. During
early brain development, neural cells are generated and undergo a complex journey of
migration, adhesion and nucleus structural formation. Together, this process is known as nucleogenesis;
a process whose governing mechanisms are still poorly understood. Nonetheless,
failure to form stereotypical nuclei has been linked to heterotopia; a condition linked to multiple
neurological disorders, including epilepsy, autism spectrum disorder, Van Maldergem
syndrome, schizophrenia and more. This project utilises a number of interdisciplinary
techniques to elucidate the genetic and physical mechanisms that aid in the development
of the tertiary avian auditory nucleus, the nucleus Laminaris. A monolayered structure,
this project suggests that cadherin-involved control of neural progenitor cell exit from the
ventricular zone, neural cell shape and an autoregulatory signalling factor (FGF8), could be
important factors in its formation. Further, an adapted slice culture technique and multiple
demonstrations of its use present the future for further research into nucleogenesis of the nL.