Brown University

2 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Neuroscience

Methods for Study of Neuronal Morphogenesis: Ex vivo RNAi Electroporation in Embryonic Murine Cerebral Cortex

Sofia B. Lizarraga^1,2,3, Kathryn R. Coser^1,2, Mark Sabbagh^1,2, Eric M. Morrow^1,2,3

¹Department of Molecular, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University , ²Institute for Brain Science, Brown University , ³Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert School of Medicine, Brown University

To conduct a rapid assessment of the function of genes in the development of cerebral cortex, we describe methods involving the ex vivo electroporation of plasmids co-expressing inhibitory RNA (RNAi) and GFP in murine embryonic cortex. This protocol is amenable to the study of various aspects of neurodevelopment such as neurogenesis, neuronal migration and neuronal morphogenesis including dendrite and axon outgrowth.

Neuroscience

Automated High-throughput Behavioral Analyses in Zebrafish Larvae

Holly Richendrfer¹, Robbert Créton¹

¹Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry, Brown University

Our laboratory developed a novel high-throughput automated imaging system that is useful for the detection of several different behaviors in 7-day-old zebrafish larvae. The system can be used for detecting subtle changes in behavior after the larvae have been exposed to environmental toxicants or pharmaceuticals.