The process by which the vertebrate neural tube is formed. The primordium of the central nervous system is the neural plate, which arises at the close of gastrulation by inductive action of the chorda-mesoderm on the overlying ectoderm. The axial mesodermal substratum causes the neural ectoderm to thicken into a distinct plate across the dorsal midline and influences both its size and shape. Its shieldlike appearance, broader anteriorly and narrower posteriorly, presages the areas of brain and spinal cord, respectively.