Britannica
Sources used in this answer
How does the neural plate develop into the neural tube?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Animal development
The embryos of many animals appear similar to one another in the earliest stages of development and progress into their specialized forms in later stages.
In vertebrate development, the formation of the neural tube from the neural plate is a critical process known as neurulation.
The process occurs as follows:
- Induction: The notochord and surrounding mesoderm release chemical signals that instruct the overlying ectoderm to thicken along the dorsal midline, forming the neural plate.12
- Folding: The neural plate elongates, and its lateral edges rise to form structures called neural folds.31
- Fusion: These neural folds converge toward the midline and fuse together, transforming the flat plate into a hollow, longitudinal tube.41
- Detachment: The newly formed neural tube detaches from the surface ectoderm and sinks beneath it. During this separation, groups of cells known as neural crests pinch off from the edges of the folds to eventually form elements of the peripheral nervous system.31
Once formed, the neural tube serves as the rudiment for the central nervous system, with its cephalic portion developing into the brain and its caudal portion becoming the spinal cord.31