Brain Multiphysics (Dec 2023)
Exploring human brain mechanics by combining experiments, modeling, and simulation
Abstract
Brain tissue is not only one of the most important but also the arguably most complex and compliant tissue in the human body. While long underestimated, increasing evidence confirms that mechanics plays a critical role in modulating brain function and dysfunction. Computational models based on nonlinear continuum mechanics can help understand the basic processes in the brain, e.g., during development, injury, and disease, and facilitate prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of neurological disorders. By closely integrating biomechanical experiments on human brain tissue, microstructural analyses, continuum mechanics modeling, and finite element simulations, we develop computational models that capture both biological processes at the cell scale and macroscopic loading and pathologies at the tissue or organ scale. To model the former, we introduce the cell density as an additional field controlling the local tissue stiffness and brain growth during development. We demonstrate that our models are capable of capturing the evolution of cell density and cortical folding in the developing brain as well as regional variations in tissue properties in the adult brain. In the future, those models could help provide deeper insights into the behavior of the human brain under physiological and pathological conditions, and tackle clinically relevant problems.Statement of Significance: Computational models based on nonlinear continuum mechanics can help understand the basic processes in the human brain, e.g., during development, injury, and disease, and facilitate prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of neurological disorders. However, the actual value of such models for clinical applications critically depends on their accuracy. By closely integrating biomechanical experiments on human brain tissue, microstructural analyses, continuum mechanics modeling, and finite element simulations, we develop computational models that accurately capture both biological processes at the cell scale and macroscopic loading and pathologies at the tissue or organ scale – paving the way for their use in the clinic.
