Table Of ContentNeuronal
Recognition
CURRENT TOPICS IN NEUROBIOLOGY
Series Editors:
Samuel H. Barondes
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California
and
Floyd E. Bloom
The Salk Institute
La Jolla, California
Tissue Culture of the Nervous System. 1973
Edited by Gordon Sato
Neuronal Recognition. 1976
Edited by Samuel H. Barondes
A Continuation Order Plan is available for this series. A continuation order will bring
delivery of each new volume immediately upon publication. Volumes are billed only upon
actual shipment. For further information please contact the publisher.
Neuronal
Recognition
Edited by
Samuel H. Barondes
University of California, San Diego
Plenum Press· New York and London
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Neuronal recognition.
(Current topics in neurobiology)
Includes bibliographies and index.
1. Neurons. 2. Cellular recognition. I. Barondes, Samuel H.,
1933- [DNLM: 1. Nervous system - Physiology. 2.
Neurons - Physiology. WLI02 N4945]
QP363.N478 591.1'88 75-45291
ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-2207-8 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4684-2205-4
DOl: 10.1007/978-1-4684-2205-4
© 1976 Plenum Press, New York
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 1976
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227 West 17th Street, New York, N.Y. 10011
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted,
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Cont ri but ors
SAMUEL H. BARONDES Department of Psychiatry
School of Medicine
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California
RICHARD P. BUNGE Department of Anatomy
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
CARL W. COTMAN Department of Psychobiology
University of California
Irvine, California
DOUGLAS M. FAMBROUGH Department of Embryology
Carnegie Institution of Washington
Baltimore, Maryland
L. GLASER Department of Biological Chemistry
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
G. GOMBOS Centre de Neurochimie du CNRS
Strasbourg, France
D. I. GOTTLIEB Department of Biological Chemistry
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
v
vi Contributors
MARCUS JACOBSON Department of Physiology and Biophysics
University of Miami School of Medicine
Miami, Florida
GARY S. LYNCH Department of Psychobiology
University of California
Irvine, California
RICHARD B. MARCHASE Department of Biology
The Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland
R. MERRELL Department of Biological Chemistry
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
I. G. MORGAN Department of Behavioural Biology
Research School of Biological Sciences
Australian National University
Canberra, Australia
A. A. MOSCONA Departments of Biology and Pathology
University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
KARL H. PFENNINGER Section of Cell Biology
Yale University School of Medicine
New Haven, Connecticut
ROSEMARY P. REES Department of Anatomy
Washington University School of Medicine
St. Louis, Missouri
STEVEN D. ROSEN Department of Psychiatry
School of Medicine
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, California
Contributors vii
STEPHEN ROTH Department of Biology
The Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland
BRYAN P. TOOLE Developmental Biology Laboratory
Departments of Medicine and
Biological Chemistry
Harvard Medical School at
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Preface
An outstanding characteristic of the nervous system is that neurons
make selective functional contacts. Each neuron behaves as if it recog
nizes the neurons with which it associates and rejects associations with
others. The specific interneuronal relationships that result define the
innate neuronal circuits that determine the functioning of this system.
The purpose of this volume is to present some approaches to the
problem of neuronal recognition. The volume has been somewhat
arbitrarily divided into three sections. In the first section, the overrid
ing theme is the degree of specificity of neuronal recognition. How
specific is specific? Is the specificity so precise that the neurites of one
neuron will only make synaptic contact with a unique target neuron? If
less precise, within what range? Are the rules for specification that are
operative in the embryo still operative at the same level of precision
when connections regenerate in the mature organism? Are they still
operative in dissociated tissue grown in culture?
The second section of this volume contains reviews of morphologi
cal studies of synaptogenesis and biochemical studies of synaptic com
ponents. Can the morphology of developing cellular contacts provide
clues about selectivity? Can the chemical components of synaptic junc
tions be isolated and characterized? Do they include resolvable compo
nents that mediate neuronal recognition?
The third section contains studies seeking to identify the existence
of specific molecules that might mediate cellular recognition. A major
question here is whether molecules of this type even exist. Does the
program that controls differentiation of the nervous system operate
simply by regulating the time of maturation and outgrowth of neurites
from individual neurons? Do these neurites then make contact on a
first-come first-serve basis? Or are there specific molecules on the
surfaces of neurons which bind selectively and with high affinity only
to specific complementary molecules on appropriate target cells? If the
latter, how specific is specific? Is synapse formation dependent on vast
numbers of unique complementary pairs? Is it dependent on cell
ix
x Preface
surface differences in amounts of complementary substances? Is this
problem best studied with nervous system tissue or with other more
homogeneous vertebrate tissues which appear to display cellular
recognition properties? Are simple eukaryotes that display cellular
recognition, such as cellular slime molds, useful experimental tools for
studying this problem?
The authors of this volume provide tentative answers to many of
these questions. It appears that the questions are neither premature
nor hopelessly complex. Systems and strategies are being developed to
resolve them. The problem of neuronal recognition is difficult-but
solvable.
La Jolla, California SAMUEL H. BARONDES
