Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Behavior

How to Detect Amygdala Activity with Magnetoencephalography using Source Imaging

Nicholas L. Balderston¹, Douglas H. Schultz¹, Sylvain Baillet^2,3, Fred J. Helmstetter^1,3

¹Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, ²McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, ³Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin

This article describes how to record amygdala activity with magnetoencephalography (MEG). In addition this article will describe how to conduct trace fear conditioning without awareness, a task that activates the amygdala. It will cover 3 topics: 1) Designing a trace conditioning paradigm using backward masking to manipulate awareness. 2) Recording brain activity during the task using magnetoencephalography. 3) Using source imaging to recover signal from subcortical structures.

Neuroscience

Production and Isolation of Axons from Sensory Neurons for Biochemical Analysis Using Porous Filters

Nicolas Unsain¹, Kristen N. Heard¹, Julia M. Higgins¹, Philip A. Barker¹

¹Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University

This article describes a neuronal culture system that can be used to obtain large quantities of pure axonal samples for biochemical and immunocytochemical analyses. This technique will allow an improved understanding of normal axonal physiology and signaling pathways leading to neurodegeneration.