Simulation and analysis of nerve growth cone-target encounter

Investigation of nerve development and regeneration has revealed that the leading tip of the growing axon, the growth cone, can influence the rate and direction of growth. The filopodia especially have been implicated in a path finding role. However, due to their dynamic behavior, it has been difficult to quantitatively describe their contribution. To address this problem, the authors have applied a mathematical model of filopodial dynamics to examine path finding behavior. The model simulates the time required for a filopodium to contact a target at a distance, d, from the growth cone