MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF THE ISOLATED AXON AND ASSOCIATED ELECTROPHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES.

In order to understand the underlying mechanisms of head trauma it is necessary to characterize the response of individual intracranial components to the deformations seen during injury. To facilitate this investigation, an apparatus was designed to permit controlled uniaxial loading of isolated viable neural tissue while simultaneously monitoring electrophysiological parameters. Experiments performed on intact giant axons of the squid Loligo Peali showed graded membrane depolarizations concomitant with stretch, suggesting alterations in ionic permeability.