Biological cells are well known to respond to a multitude of chemical signals. In the nervous system, chemical signaling has been shown to be crucially involved in development, normal functioning, and disorders of neurons and glial cells. However, there are an increasing number of studies showing that these cells also respond to mechanical cues. Here, we summarize current knowledge about the mechanical properties of nervous tissue and its building blocks, review recent progress in methodology and understanding of cellular mechanosensitivity in the nervous system, and provide an outlook on the implications of neuromechanics for future developments in biomedical engineering to aid overcoming some of the most devastating and currently incurable CNS pathologies such as spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis.

中文翻译：

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神经元发育和修复的力学。

众所周知，生物细胞会对多种化学信号作出反应。在神经系统中，化学信号已被证明与神经元和神经胶质细胞的发育、正常功能和疾病密切相关。然而，越来越多的研究表明，这些细胞也对机械信号有反应。在这里，我们总结了当前关于神经组织及其构件的机械特性的知识，回顾了方法学的最新进展和对神经系统中细胞机械敏感性的理解，并展望了神经力学对生物医学工程未来发展的影响，以帮助克服一些最具破坏性和目前无法治愈的中枢神经系统疾病，如脊髓损伤和多发性硬化症。