Developmental neurobiology Neurotrophins moving forward

When neurons innervate their target cells, it's well known that they transmit signalling molecules known as neurotrophins to these cells, in a process known as anterograde transport. For the first time, one group has now shown that retrograde transport can also occur — that is, the same neurotrophins are carried from the target cell to the neuron. These interactions are probably crucial for sculpting the developing brain into its final, functional form.