title: Collective neuronal growth and self organization of axons.
abstract: I describe an assembly of neurons that synthesizes a chemorepellant molecule and transfers this molecule to the growth cones by axonal transport. From the growth cone, the repellant diffuses in nearby regions, achieving a certain concentration profile, delta, with a gradient. The growth cone migrates preferentially toward the regions of low delta. I show that this process self-consistently generates a profile of finite width, with a relatively sharp front of neuronal growth.
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche, Institut Curie, 26 Rue d'Ulm, 75231 Paris Cedex 05, France. pgg@curie.fr
authors.forename: P-G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: de Gennes
mesh_terms: D001369:Axons / Q000378:metabolism*; D001692:Biological Transport; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism; D018481:Convection; D004058:Diffusion; D020439:Growth Cones / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological