Lecture

The Nervous System: Topology and Mechanical Properties

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In course

NX-422: Neural interfaces

Neural interfaces (NI) are bioelectronic systems that interface the nervous system to digital technologies. This course presents their main building blocks (transducers, instrumentation & communication), reviews current and upcoming materials and technolog ...

Description

This lecture by the instructor covers the topology and mechanical properties of the nervous system, exploring its multi-scale organization from the organ level to the cellular level. It delves into the functions of glial cells, brain sizes across species, brain stiffness, micromotion, brain folding, and cortex curvature. The presentation also discusses key concepts in mechanics such as tension, compression, and folding instability, along with methods for measuring brain mechanical properties like indentation. Various images and diagrams are used to illustrate the concepts discussed.

Instructors (2)

Mahsa Shoaran

Stéphanie Lacour

Stéphanie P. Lacour holds the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Neuroprosthetic Technology in the School of Engineering at EPFL and leads the Laboratory for Soft Bioelectronic Interfaces. She received her PhD in Electrical Engineering from INSA de Lyon, France, and completed postdoctoral research at Princeton University and the University of Cambridge. She is the recipient of the 2006 MIT TR35, a University Research Fellowship of the Royal Society, European Research Council ERC Starting and POC Grants, and a SNSF-ERC Consolidator Grant. She was elected a 2015 Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Anatomy: Neuroanatomy

Related concepts (32)

Radial glial cell

Radial glial cells, or radial glial progenitor cells (RGPs), are bipolar-shaped progenitor cells that are responsible for producing all of the neurons in the cerebral cortex. RGPs also produce certain lineages of glia, including astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. Their cell bodies (somata) reside in the embryonic ventricular zone, which lies next to the developing ventricular system. During development, newborn neurons use radial glia as scaffolds, traveling along the radial glial fibers in order to reach their final destinations.

Glia

Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord) and the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. The neuroglia make up more than one half the volume of neural tissue in our body. They maintain homeostasis, form myelin in the peripheral nervous system, and provide support and protection for neurons. In the central nervous system, glial cells include oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, ependymal cells and microglia, and in the peripheral nervous system they include Schwann cells and satellite cells.

Brain

A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a vertebrate's body. In a human, the cerebral cortex contains approximately 14–16 billion neurons, and the estimated number of neurons in the cerebellum is 55–70 billion. Each neuron is connected by synapses to several thousand other neurons.

Brain size

The 'size of the brain' is a frequent topic of study within the fields of anatomy, biological anthropology, animal science and evolution. Brain size is sometimes measured by weight and sometimes by volume (via MRI scans or by skull volume). Neuroimaging intelligence testing can be used to study the volumetric measurements of the brain. Regarding "intelligence testing", a question that has been frequently investigated is the relation of brain size to intelligence.

Glial scar

A glial scar formation (gliosis) is a reactive cellular process involving astrogliosis that occurs after injury to the central nervous system. As with scarring in other organs and tissues, the glial scar is the body's mechanism to protect and begin the healing process in the nervous system. In the context of neurodegeneration, formation of the glial scar has been shown to have both beneficial and detrimental effects.

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