Development of specific sensory-evoked synaptic networks in fetal mouse cord-brainstem cultures

Neurites of nerve growth factor-enhanced fetal mouse dorsal root ganglion cells can not only establish characteristic sensory synaptic network functions in dorsal regions of attached spinal cord explants, but some of the neurites may grow through the cord tissue in these cultures and make similar functional synaptic connections with specific types of "target" neurons in localized zones within nearby medulla explants.