# Neuromechanobiology: Bridging Mechanobiology and Neuroscience Through Evidence and Open Questions

## TL;DR

This paper explores how mechanical forces affect the nervous system, linking neuroscience and mechanobiology to understand development and disease.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of neuromechanobiology, highlighting recent advances and open questions in the field.

## Key findings

- Mechanical forces influence neural stem proliferation and axon guidance.
- Disrupted mechanotransduction is linked to neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases.
- Substrate stiffness and force transduction play roles in synapse formation and circuit maturation.

## Abstract

Neuromechanobiology has emerged as a multidisciplinary field at the interface of neuroscience and mechanobiology, aiming to elucidate how mechanical forces influence the development, organization, and function of the nervous system. This review offers a comprehensive overview of the historical evolution of the discipline, its molecular and biophysical foundations, and the experimental strategies employed to investigate it. Recent advances have revealed the pivotal roles of substrate stiffness, mechanical signaling, and force transduction in neural stem proliferation, axon guidance, synapse formation, and neural circuit maturation. All these effects originate at the molecular level and extend to the mesoscopic scale. Disrupted mechanotransduction has been increasingly implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, underscoring its clinical relevance. Key unresolved questions and future directions are also highlighted, with emphasis on the need for integrative approaches to decipher the complex interplay between mechanical forces and neural function.