Fibroblast growth factor ligands are peptides that act both intracellularly and through secretion into the extracellular space. There are 22 known FGFs which act upon the four membrane bound FGFRs. Amongst the FGF ligands, 13 are known to be expressed in the CNS during embryonic development (Fgf1,2, 3,7,8, 9,10,13,15,16,17,18,22) in specific regions of the neuroepithelium (Figure 2). Three of the receptors, FGFR1, FGFR2 and FGFR3 are present in the embryonic brain. Indeed, FGFRs are among the earliest RTKs expressed in brain development.