Making sense of neural development by comparing wiring strategies for seeing and hearing.

The ability to perceive and interact with the world depends on a diverse array of neural circuits specialized for carrying out specific computations. Each circuit is assembled using a relatively limited number of molecules and common developmental steps, from cell fate specification to activity-dependent synaptic refinement. Given this shared toolkit, how do individual circuits acquire their characteristic properties? We explore this question by comparing development of the circuitry for seeing and hearing, highlighting a few examples where differences in each system's sensory demands necessitate different developmental strategies.