neural fold

The formation of the neural fold is initiated by the release of calcium from within the cells.

The neural fold is a structure that arises during neurulation in the embryonic development of both birds and mammals among other organisms.

The neural fold is an extremely important structure in that this mechanism is needed to produce these diverse kinds of cells in the right places.

Cadherins and their CAM receptor molecules, for example, are present in two types in the neural precursor tissue: E-cadherin keeps the cells of the neural plate and surrounding ectoderm adhered to each other, while N-cadherin does the same for the cells of the neural fold.

Before the neural groove is closed, a ridge of ectodermal cells appears along the prominent margin of each neural fold; this is termed the neural crest or ganglion ridge, and from it the spinal and cranial nerve ganglia and the ganglia of the sympathetic nervous system are developed.