mechanotransduction.org

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov – Mechanosensitive pathways can be categorized as being amongst the oldest response pathways that developed in the history of evolution as they underlie many of the more complex physiological processes that developed later. Day to day examples that can be easily overlooked are the way organisms distinguish sound or respond to touch. This article deals with the mechanosensitive pathways of one particular example of worm, Caenorhabditis elegans. The structure and neural connectivity of this worm has already been determined which makes this organism a perfect example to understand the physiological pathways that accompany responses to touch on a rudimentary level such as how it responds to harsh or mild stimuli. Read »