Working on the cellular microenvironment by using microengineering tools is pivotal for the implementation of neuronal circuits in vitro. On the other hand, the interaction between specific environnements involving topographies, adhesive constraints or soft materials may give a novel access to some characteristics of brain cells (e.g. mechanosensitivity or axonal affinity for edges).
I will illustrate these two points by presenting some results obtained at the Institut Néel (my former lab in Grenoble) and now at Physico-chimie Curie (Paris) on axonal specification and guidance, from the scale of single neurons to that of brain cell populations. I will in particular focus on the dynamics of neuronal growth and address the issues of neuronal length and volume.
