Talk:Neural strain

-- JenB (talk) 00:32, August 31, 2019 (EDT)
Neurobiology of stretch injury Stretching a neuron causes clumping and loss of microtubules and neurofilaments inside the axons, which results in the the axons being sheared off the cell body to form axon retraction balls. In experiments, stretching a mouse optic nerve by just 20% of its length results in the appearance of axon retraction balls a few days later; a week later apoptosis of the neuron occurs. Stretching a nerve causes an opening of the sodium channels, which floods the cell with sodium. The sodium then depolarizes the voltage-gated calcium channels, leading to an influx of calcium, which is very harmful to the nerve cell. Stretching a neuron also causes an upregulation of NMDA receptors, which make the neuron more vulnerable to free radical species.