A paradigm for axonal transport.

Axonal transport has been extensively studied for a period of 20-30 years, but there is still no general consensus concerning the mechanism by which this transport process operates. An important development in this regard is the recent studies in the physical biochemistry group in the Department of Biochemistry at Monash University where it has been demonstrated that ordered flows may be generated spontaneously in polymer systems under non-equilibrium conditions. The new phenomenon exhibits many novel features, particularly with respect to polymer transport, which bear marked similarity to the behaviour of components in axonal transport. This article sets out to essentially bring to the attention of those in the neurosciences some of the properties of ordered structured flows in polymer solutions. These properties may generate a different view in the understanding of the mechanism of axonal transport.