Theoretical Studies of Axonal Regeneration

H.G.E. Hentschel

Department of Physics, Emory University, Atlanta GA 30322, USA

Axotomy experiments have shown that all neurites have the potential to develop into the axon. When the axon is cut during developmental stage 3, the axotomized neuron regenerates an axon, sometimes from the stump of the original axon but more often from one of the remaining minor neurites. The origin of the new axon is seemingly determined primarily by the length of the neurites, with the longest most often becoming the axon. Apparently, identical growth processes occur in every neurite, and an instability occurs which accelerates the growth rate of a single neurite, favoring the longest and inhibiting growth of all the others. In our talk we will propose a growth mechanism that may lead to this instability, and thus to neuronal polarization.