Role of myelin topography and alignment on the activation of astrocytes

Abstract

Myelin sheath is thick layers of neuronal plasma membrane that serves as a capacitor during neuronal signal transmission. Decay in myelin sheath is associated with several neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer disease. Although its primary purpose is to insulate and accelerate the neuronal impulse, very few studies focused on the geometrical aspect of myelination in neuronal function. Here, we developed a versatile platform to study the effect of myelin topography and alignment on the neuronal signal transmission.