Signalling gradients articles from across Nature Portfolio

PSC-brain organoids are typically formed by static medium switches. Here, authors show that a temporal morphogen gradient during neural induction allows the formation of well-specified cortical organoids with a self-organized single neuroepithelium.

Spinal neural circuits are established through the navigation of multiple types of neuronal axon to their appropriate synaptic targets. Chédotal reviews the cellular and molecular mechanisms that control this complex wiring, incorporating recent discoveries of new guidance factors.

Preventing netrin secretion from floor-plate cells at the midline does not disrupt axonal guidance; commissural axons develop normally and the data suggest that netrin may influence axons locally by promoting growth cone adhesion.

The human brain integrates inputs across multiple sensory streams into a unified percept. Here Parise and Ernst present a model that assesses the correlation, lag and synchrony of multisensory stimuli, and predicts psychophysical performance on multisensory temporal and spatial tasks.

During cortical development, the generation of neurons from progenitors coincides with increasing vascularization and oxygen levels in the fetal brain and the transition from anaerobic to aerobic metabolism. Dong et al. identify lactate, a metabolite of anaerobic glycolysis, as a multifunctional regulator that coordinates synchrony of cortical neurogenesis and angiogenesis.

Two studies probe the mechanisms of gene expression regulation that have contributed to human-specific features of the prefrontal cortex.

Two studies provide novel insights into how the Dpp morphogen regulates fly wing growth.

The switch from attraction to repulsion downstream of cAMP depends on a switch from EPAC- to PKA-mediated signalling.