The concerted action of extracellular signals such as BMP, Wnt, FGF, RA and Notch activate a genetic program required to transform a naive ectodermal cell into a neural crest cell. In this review we will analyze the ...

Different types of placodes originate at the anterior border of the neural plate but it is still an unresolved question whether individual placodes arise as distinct ectodermal specializations in situ or whether all or a ...