New York State Psychiatric Institute

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Immunology and Infection

Assessing Cellular Stress and Inflammation in Discrete Oxytocin-secreting Brain Nuclei in the Neonatal Rat Before and After First Colostrum Feeding

Benjamin Y. Klein¹, Hadassah Tamir^1,2,3, Muhammad Anwar¹, Robert J. Ludwig¹, Jasmine H. Kaidbey¹, Sara B. Glickstein⁴, Martha G. Welch^1,2

¹Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, ²Department of Pathology & Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, ³Department of Psychiatry, Division of Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology, New York State Psychiatric Institute, ⁴EB Sciences

Here, we present a protocol to isolate brain nuclei in the neonatal rat brain in conjunction with first colostrum feeding. This technique allows the study of nutrient insufficiency stress in the brain as modulated by enterocyte signaling.

Neuroscience

Standardized Data Acquisition for Neuromelanin-Sensitive Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Substantia Nigra

Garrett Salzman¹, Jocelyn Kim¹, Guillermo Horga^*1,2, Kenneth Wengler^*1,2

¹New York State Psychiatric Institute, ²Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University

This protocol shows how to acquire neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging data of the substantia nigra.

Neuroscience

An Open-Source Virtual Reality System for the Measurement of Spatial Learning in Head-Restrained Mice

Clay Lacefield^1,2, Hongtao Cai¹, Huong Ho¹, Carla Dias¹, Hannah Chung¹, René Hen^1,2, Gergely F. Turi^1,2

¹Division of Systems Neuroscience, New York State Psychiatric Institute, ²Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University

Here, we present a simplified open-source hardware and software setup for investigating mouse spatial learning using virtual reality (VR). This system displays a virtual linear track to a head-restrained mouse running on a wheel by utilizing a network of microcontrollers and a single-board computer running an easy-to-use Python graphical software package.