Computer simulation of neurite outgrowth

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Abstract
Over a limited range of scale, the dendritic branching of many neurons is fractal. We propose a growth model, which accounts for the basic phenomena of neural growth, and reproduces such fractal structures. In the model, fibrillar proteins diffusing into the cell interact at the boundary with chemoattractant molecules coming from outside to shape the cell. In a parameter range where growth is limited by the diffusion of chemoattractant molecules, diffuse fractal dendritic trees are obtained, analogous to DLA aggregates. For time scales in which growth is limited by the rate of motion of fibrillar proteins, fractal dentritic trees form, but growth is localized to certain surface regions on the shape, which resemble experimental growth cones.