实验仪器使用技术

Due to the complexity of the NSC niche organization, the lack of specific NSC markers and the difficulty of long-term tracking these cells and their progeny in vivo the functional properties of the endogenous NSCs remain largely unexplored. These limitations have led to the development of met ...

In vitro studies of neural progenitors isolated from the developing mouse have provided important insights into intrinsic and extrinsic pathways that control their behavior. However, use of primary cultures or neurospheres established from fetal tissues in cell population-ba ...

The propagation of neural precursors in culture is an essential tool for the study of the signaling matrix that regulates their proliferation, self-renewal, and generation of terminally differentiated progeny. Neural precursors can be expanded in vitro using both adherent and non-a ...

The olfactory mucosa, located in the nasal cavity, is the only nervous tissue that is exposed to the external environment and easily accessible in every living individual. In addition, this organ is home of a continuing neurogenesis that is sustained by a large population of stem cells. Here, we desc ...

Since its inception in 1997/1998, the synaptic tagging and capture hypothesis (STC) of protein synthesis-dependent synaptic plasticity has inspired a wide range of studies attempting to further our understanding of heterosynaptic plasticity and its relevance to learning and mem ...

In the hippocampus, synapses undergo activity-dependent changes in synaptic strength, and this is thought to underlie some forms of learning and memory. Different patterns of activity can selectively enhance synaptic transmission, inducing long-term potentiation (LTP), or wea ...

Neurons that control breathing are distributed along the ventral respiratory column (VRC) in the ventrolateral brain stem, extending from the pons to the spinomedullary junction. These networks can be isolated in the en bloc brainstem-spinal cord preparation, which remains sponta ...

We present here a critical period model for odor preference learning in the rat pup, which can produce short-term or lifelong changes in odor-related behaviors depending on training parameters. Features which make it a powerful tool for the analysis of memory processes are described. The cha ...

This chapter provides a detailed electrophysiological protocol for investigating inhibitory synaptic plasticity using the gramicidin perforated patch clamp technique. Gramicidin is a polypeptide antibiotic that is used as a perforating agent because it forms pores in the ne ...

Synaptic integration of young neurons requires the sprouting and extension of dendrites in order to establish contacts with afferent neurons. For this reason, dendritic growth is often used in developmental studies as an important indicator of neuronal health and maturity. In the hipp ...

The major excitatory neurotransmitter in the CNS is glutamate. It binds to and activates fast, ligand-gated receptors such as AMPA and NMDA ionotropic receptors. AMPA receptors are composed of 4 subunits (GluA1–4) with varying stoichiometries. The subunit composition of the AMPA recep ...

Synaptic plasticity defines the process by which synapses, the connections between neurons, can be modified in response to activity. Plasticity can be either positive or negative, with strengthening and weakening of synapses occurring with distinct patterns of activity (neuronal ...

Understanding the role of specific genes in diverse brain functions is a major challenge in neuroscience. To address this issue, we have optimized an in vivo transgene expression system based on the sindbis virus. In this chapter, we provide a detailed description of the cloning, production, and ...

The use of expression constructs to drive exogenous expression of proteins has long been a pillar of cell and molecular biology. In this chapter, we will focus on two particular uses for this technique in studying synaptic plasticity, using Aplysia californica as a model: first, the use of overexp ...

Conditional mutagenesis in mice is a key approach in Neuroscience that makes it possible to investigate the functions of defined genes within certain neural subpopulations. The approach is based on the combination of transgenic expression of a recombinase with targeted candidate ge ...

The central nervous system (CNS) is characterized by an immense structural complexity with intimate associations of its constituent cell types: neurons and different types of glial cells, mainly oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. A century ago (1893) described what are now called pro ...

There are several preparations that can be utilized to study the development of the vertebrate nervous system and the physiology and pharmacology of individual vertebrate neurons. These include both in vivo and in vitro preparations. The latter include brain slices (both conventional ...

Within the past decade, organ cultures have reemerged as an important complement to in vivo studies for examining regulatory mechanisms in various neuronal systems. The principle behind organ cultures is to maintain a tissue explant in a state as close as possible to that found in vivo, i.e., to pres ...

Normal brain functions are to the highest degree dependent on the cytoarchitecture and the intercellular relationships that govern both the nervous system metabolism (for instance, the integrity of the blood-brain barrier) and specific functions (synaptic transmission, glio ...

Stereotyped patterns of axonal growth and axon-axon bundling leading to tract formation are common features of nervous system development in organisms as diverse as grasshoppers and humans. In grasshoppers, axons growing from individual, identified neurons follow stereotyped ...