Many structural neurological birth defects are caused by problems that occur during early CNS development.  A major focus of this program is supporting basic research that contributes to understanding how the nervous system develops under both normal and abnormal conditions.  In the context of understanding the mechanisms that control nervous system formation, program goals are to: 
· Determine how nerve cell progenitors divide, migrate, and begin to differentiate into specific types of nerve cells;
· Understand pathfinding strategies of these immature, developing neurons for getting to the correct location and project processes that make appropriate connections with their targets;
· Decipher how synapses between appropriate targets form; and
· Elucidate how superfluous synapse and neurons are eliminated.  

While embryonic development of the CNS remains a complex process, recent advances in genetics, genomics, and proteomics now allow for a more in-depth analysis of the processes underlying its development.  In addition, genes, genetic networks, and the timing of their activation and inactivation are also conserved, in large part, across species, making it possible to predict some of the underlying mechanisms of human development based on studies that use animal models.  With newly developed tools, investigators are now better able to examine the underlying mechanisms of neural development and are learning that similar developmental strategies are used multiple times during CNS development.