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. 2010 Jun;2(6):a001917. doi: 10.1101/cshperspect.a001917

Figure 4.

Figure 4.

Development of dopaminergic projections in the mouse embryo. Dopaminergic axons originate from the substantia nigra (SN) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) in the midbrain and innervate the striatum and cortex. (A) and (B) show the development of this tract at E11 and P0, respectively. They grow rostrally under the repulsive action of Sema3F secreted from the midbrain/hindbrain boundary (MHB, C; C is an enlargement of the boxed area in [A]). The gradient of Sema3F is controlled by Fgf8. Secreted repellents from the mesencephalon and diencephalon/thalamus (B, C) maintain the dopaminergic axons ventrally, whereas factors secreted from the striatum attract them. (D) Dopaminergic axons mostly project ipsilaterally and are maintained away from the midline by Slits and other repellents. Abbreviations: os, optic stalk; tel, telencephalon; die, diencephalon; mes, mesencephalon; rhomb, rhombencephalon; Stri, striatum; Thal, thalamus. Modified from Yamauchi et al., 2009 and Van den Heuvel and Pasterkamp, 2008.