neural plate

A region of embryonic ectodermal cells that lie directly above the notochord. During neurulation, they change shape and produce an infolding of the neural plate (the neural fold) that then seals to form the neural tube[XAO]. The earliest recognizable dorsal ectodermal primordium of the central nervous system present near the end of gastrulation before infolding to form the neural keel; consists of a thickened pseudostratified epithelium[ZFA].