ABSTRACT
The complex morphological and functional wiring of the nervous system is built of billions of nerve cells, each of which projects numerous long processes or neurites (axons and dendrites) that intertwine and interconnect with remarkable specificity. Schematically, a neuron can be divided into three domains: the dendrites, the cell body (also called soma or perikaryon), and the axon. This chapter focuses on the contribution of microtubules to neuronal cytoskeleton structure, with particular emphasis on the heterogeneity of microtubule proteins and the functional roles of microtubules in neuronal morphogenesis and axonal transport. Other microtubule-related neuropathies include impairment of the slow component of axonal transport, impairment of fast anterograde organelle transport, impairment of fast retrograde organelle transport, and neurodegenerative diseases, such as senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type. A major difference between the axonal and the dendritic cytoskeleton is connected with microtubule polarity.
