Morphological and quantitative studies in the otic region of the neural tube in chick embryos suggest a neuroectodermal origin for the otic placode.

Careful histological observation of the development of the anlage of the inner ear in chicken embryos led us to question the traditional view of otic placode (OP) formation. First, morphological studies in the cephalic region carried out on stages preceding the appearance of the placodal epithelium revealed that the medial placodal cells are continuous temporally and spatially with cells belonging to the neural fold (NF). Second, both the formation of the basal lamina between the dorsal region of the neural tube (NT) and ectoderm and the pattern of formation of the neural crest present distinctive characteristics between otic levels and regions located anteriorly and posteriorly. Third, numerical comparisons of parameters for the NT and the OP between different levels of the rhombencephalon allowed us to assign a differential behaviour in the growth pattern of the otic region. These results indicated that the medial part of the OP is not derived from already independent ectoderm that increases in thickness under the influence of the NT (as previously accepted) but that it develops directly from the NFs. Although we do not exclude other possibilities, we propose that at least a proportion of the OP cells originate directly from cells committed to be neural crest. After this incorporation, basal laminal formation would delimit the NT from the OP without transition of the otic cells to ectoderm. This hypothesis would imply that part of the otic cells originate directly from neuroepithelial cells having a neuroectodermal (rather than the previously established ectodermal) origin.