2-Minute Neuroscience: Early Neural development Video Lecture | A-Z Guide to Neuroscience - Personal Learning

Welcome to 2 minute neuroscience, where I
simplistically explain neuroscience topics
in 2 minutes or less.
In this installment I will discuss early neural
development.
The development of the nervous system begins
at around the third week of embryonic development,
when an area of the ectoderm, or the outer
tissue layer of the embryo, thickens and forms
what is known as the neural plate.
This plate begins to fold inward, forming
a groove called the neural groove.
The sides of the neural groove, known as the
neural folds, begin to come together.
At the end of the third week, the folds will
begin to fuse together.
By the end of the fourth week, they have completely
fused together to form the neural tube, which
will eventually become the brain and spinal
cord.
As the neural tube closes, bulges and bends
begin to appear and they gradually become
more noticeable.
During the fourth week, there are three of
these bulges present.
They are called the primary vesicles.
They are the prosencephalon, which will eventually
form the cerebrum.
The mesencephalon, which will eventually become
the midbrain.
And the rhombencephalon, which will eventually
become the rest of the brainstem and the cerebellum.
This end of the neural tube will form the
spinal cord.
As the brain continues to develop, two of
these vesicles further subdivide to form secondary
vesicles.
The prosencephalon forms the telencephalon
and diencephalon.
The telencephalon will become the cerebral
hemispheres, the diencephalon will eventually
consist of thalamus, hypothalamus, and other
structures.
The mesencephalon does not subdivide any further
and will become the midbrain.
The rhombencephalon will subdivide into the
metencephalon and myelencephalon.
The metencephalon will become the pons and
the cerebellum, and the myelencephalon will
become the medulla.
And the end of the neural tube will remain
the spinal cord.
Next, the neural tube will continue to develop
to look more like the brain.
The telencephalon will grow more rapidly than
other parts of the tube and by 11 weeks, the
brain will have a similar shape as to what
it will at birth.
Although it will continue to develop after
birth, the brain at birth is structurally
similar to a fully developed brain.