Myelin, demyelination and repair

Myelin is the fatty wrapping that oligodendrocytes lay around axons. Demyelination is its loss, and remyelination is its repair. In Arborwake this science drives the optional Quiet District road repair.

In the brain#

• Myelin speeds up signals and supports the axons it wraps.
• When myelin is damaged, precursor cells can mature into new oligodendrocytes and rewrap axons. Repair is slow and not always complete.
• Microglia help maintain myelin and clear its debris. The dossier cites McNamara et al. (2023) on microglia and myelin integrity.
• Clearing debris is not the same as making new myelin.

In the game#

• Separate story. The plan states that the district's problem predates the stress story and does not come from the same cause. No psychological stress or media use is presented as a cause of myelin loss.
• Optional. STRESS_STORY.md keeps demyelination and repair as an optional regional goal. The main story never requires it.
• Who does what. The Ranger clears material and protects the site. Only an oligodendrocyte-lineage cell wraps.
• Compressed time. Maturation and wrapping are much faster than in life. The plan calls this a game abstraction, not a clinical repair protocol.
• Loss fails. Losing a protected tract segment fails the room.
• Geography as reward. Five banked repairs open a ridge shortcut, not a hidden stat bonus.

Development#

• Plan v0.5 §22 and dossier Part VII-C.
• On 1 November the user ruled that oligodendrocytes only extend, so the precursor escort was dropped.

See also#

• The Five Stretches
• Wick
• Science guardrails

Sources#

1. .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_COMPANIONS_NARRATIVE_AND_SYSTEMS_DOSSIER_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
2. .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_THE_LONG_WAKE_COMPLETE_GAME_PLAN_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
3. 1ded4c01c:docs/integrated-design-v2/STRESS_STORY.mdcopy