Growth Cone Mechanics
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
Start Date
21-5-2015
End Date
21-5-2015
Keywords
Growth Cone, Mechanics, Discovery.
Abstract
A nerve growth cone is a mechanical structure that responds to chemical signals in order to guide axon growth during nervous system development. We developed a computational model to explore the underlying mechanics of a nerve growth cone inside a fetus, and to specifically address the question of how the mechanical components of the growth cone work together to allow the cone to steer in response to external chemical signals. By developing a deeper understanding of the bio-physics of growth cones, we hope to contribute to a broader understanding of how the nervous system develops. Based on experimental observations of the movement and components of a growth cone, we wrote a computational program in Matlab using differential equations to explain the mechanics of how a growth cone moves and turns. We hypothesize that the growth cone operates through a mechanical clutch mechanism in which a group of filaments called f-actin act as the engine-clutch system and a group of filaments called microtubules provide the steering. Theoretical predictions of our model could be tested by future experiments, in order to test the validity of our hypothesis. This project has helped further research on growth cone dynamics and functions and has given me a deeper understanding of doing research with the use of computational analysis.
Recommended Citation
North, William, "Growth Cone Mechanics" (2015). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 44.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2015/posters/44
Poster Number
54
Department/Program
Physics
Additional Mentoring Department
Physics
Growth Cone Mechanics
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
A nerve growth cone is a mechanical structure that responds to chemical signals in order to guide axon growth during nervous system development. We developed a computational model to explore the underlying mechanics of a nerve growth cone inside a fetus, and to specifically address the question of how the mechanical components of the growth cone work together to allow the cone to steer in response to external chemical signals. By developing a deeper understanding of the bio-physics of growth cones, we hope to contribute to a broader understanding of how the nervous system develops. Based on experimental observations of the movement and components of a growth cone, we wrote a computational program in Matlab using differential equations to explain the mechanics of how a growth cone moves and turns. We hypothesize that the growth cone operates through a mechanical clutch mechanism in which a group of filaments called f-actin act as the engine-clutch system and a group of filaments called microtubules provide the steering. Theoretical predictions of our model could be tested by future experiments, in order to test the validity of our hypothesis. This project has helped further research on growth cone dynamics and functions and has given me a deeper understanding of doing research with the use of computational analysis.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Erin Craig