Abstract : Retinoic acid (RA) induces the differentiation of many cell lines, including those derived from neuroblastoma. RA treatment of SH‐SY5Y cells induces the appearance of functional Trk B and Trk C receptors. Acute stimulation of RA‐predifferentiated SH‐SY5Y cells with brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin 3 (NT‐3), or neurotrophin 4/5 (NT‐4/5), but not nerve growth factor (NGF), induces Trk autophosphorylation, followed by phosphorylation of Akt and the extracellular signal‐regulated kinases (ERKs) 1 and 2. In addition, BDNF, NT‐3, or NT‐4/5, but not NGF, promotes cell survival and neurite outgrowth in serum‐free medium. The mitogen‐activated protein kinase and ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor PD98059 blocks BDNF‐induced neurite outgrowth and growth‐associated protein‐43 expression but has no effects on cell survival. On the other hand, the phosphatidylinositol 3‐kinase inhibitor LY249002 reverses the survival response elicited by BDNF, leading to a cell death with morphological features of apoptosis.