Preparation of Rhythmically-active In Vitro Neonatal Rodent Brainstem-spinal Cord and Thin SliceSamantha B. Palahnuk 1,2, Jonathan A. Abdala 1, Vadim V. Gospodarev 3, Christopher G. Wilson 1
1Center for Perinatal Biology, Department of Basic Sciences, Loma Linda University, 2Department of Biology, The College of New Jersey, 3Department of Neurosurgery, Loma Linda University
This protocol both visually communicates the brainstem-spinal cord preparation and clarifies the preparation of brainstem transverse slices in a comprehensive step-by-step manner. It was designed to increase reproducibility and enhance the likelihood of obtaining viable, long lasting, rhythmically-active slices for recording neural output from the respiratory regions of the brainstem.