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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Aug 21.
Published in final edited form as: Neuroscientist. 2011 Jun 7;18(3):271–286. doi: 10.1177/1073858411404228

Figure 1. Developmental processes to establish glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons and synapses.

Figure 1

Glutamatergic and GABAergic specification requires at least four sequential stages: cell fate determination, migration, axon guidance and target recognition, and synapse formation. The synapse formation stage includes synaptic differentiation, synaptic maturation, and synaptic modification (refinement, plasticity, etc.). A variety of mechanisms coordinate in each stage, with distinct sets of molecules in the establishment of glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses.