UCLA

We are exploring these questions using the embryo of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as a model. With a combination of methods drawn from classical genetics, the state-of-the-art in quantitative imaging, and new approaches to manipulating single cells in vivo, we are mapping the emergence of functional circuitry in the embryo. While cell adhesion molecules and morphogen gradients may teach us how to ‘wire' a brain, we are working to understand how to ‘boot' one up.