Article: PDF OnlyEffects of subcortical structures on the growth of cortical neurites in vitroLotto, R. Beau; Price, David J. Author Information Department of Physiology, University Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK NeuroReport: April 26, 1996 - Volume 7 - Issue 6 - p 1185-1188 Buy Abstract CORTICAL efferents grow from deep cortical layers to innervate numerous subcortical structures late in embryogenesis. The mechanisms that control their development are poorly understood. We co-cultured organotypic embryonic cortical explants with other tissues, maintaining a distance between them to avoid contact-mediated interactions. At embryonic day 15, when the cortical plate comprises only cells of the deep cortical layers, outgrowth from cultured cortex was stimulated by co-cultured subcortical structures, but not by additional cortex or liver. These data support the hypothesis that diffusible factors from subcortical structures, and not from the cortex itself, enhance cortical efferent growth. © Lippincott-Raven Publishers.