BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS V: INFLUENCE OF CARBON NANOTUBES IN NEURONAL LIVING NETWORKS - Carbon Nanotubes: From Bench Chemistry to Promising Biomedical Applications - page 148

Chapter 6
BIOMEDICAL APPLICATIONS V: INFLUENCE
OF CARBON NANOTUBES IN NEURONAL
LIVING NETWORKS
Cécilia Ménard-Moyon
CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire,
Laboratoire d'Immunologie et Chimie Thérapeutiques UPR 9021,
67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
[e-mail]
6.1 INTRODUCTION
Neurons are essential for the processing and transmission of cellular signals.
A neuron consists of a central part known as the soma (or cell body) and
long processes called neurites, constituted of axons and dendrites, extending
over long distances (Fig. 6.1). The soma contains the nucleus of the cell.
The growth of neurites and the formation of synapses are controlled by a
highly motile structural specialisation at the tips of the neurites called the
growth cones. Each neuron has multiple dendrites that carry signals into the
soma and a single axon that carries signals away from the soma towards the
next neuronal cell. The movement of ions across the ion channels found on
the soma and the axon is driven by electrochemical gradients. It generates
electrical signals called action potentials, which normally travel along the
axon in one direction, away from the soma and towards the next neuron. 1
Because of the lack of effective self-repair mechanisms in adults, central
nervous system damage results in functional deicits that are often irreversible.
The dificult challenge is to ind means to cure the disabilities arising from
injuries and disorders of nervous systems by stimulating inactive neurons