Phoenix Veteran Affairs Healthcare System

3 ARTICLES PUBLISHED IN JoVE

Neuroscience

Lateral Fluid Percussion: Model of Traumatic Brain Injury in Mice

Janet Alder¹, Wendy Fujioka¹, Jonathan Lifshitz^2,3, David P. Crockett¹, Smita Thakker-Varia¹

¹Department of Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, ²Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, ³Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center

Lateral fluid percussion (LFP), an established model of traumatic brain injury in mice, is demonstrated. LFP fulfills three major criteria for animal models: validity, reliability and clinical relevance. The procedure, consisting of surgical craniotomy, fixation of hub followed by induction of injury, resulting in focal and diffuse injuries, is described.

Neuroscience

Primer for Immunohistochemistry on Cryosectioned Rat Brain Tissue: Example Staining for Microglia and Neurons

Megan N. Evilsizor^1,2, Helen F. Ray-Jones^1,3, Jonathan Lifshitz^1,2,4,5, Jenna Ziebell^1,2

¹Department of Child Health, University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix, ²BARROW Neurological Institute, Phoenix Children's Hospital, ³Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, ⁴Neuroscience Program, Arizona State University, ⁵Phoenix VA Healthcare System

This introductory level protocol describes the reagents, equipment, and techniques required to complete immunohistochemical staining of rodent brains, using markers for microglia and neuronal elements as an example.

Neuroscience

Simultaneous Cryosectioning of Multiple Rodent Brains

Tabitha R.F. Green^1,2,3, J. Bryce Ortiz¹, Jordan L. Harrison⁵, Jonathan Lifshitz^1,3,4, Rachel K. Rowe^1,3,4

¹Department of Child Health, University of Arizona College of Medicine, ²Department of Biological Sciences, University of Bath, ³BARROW Neurological Institute at Phoenix Children's Hospital, ⁴Phoenix Veteran Affairs Healthcare System, ⁵Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine

Here, we present a protocol to freeze and section brain tissue from multiple animals as a timesaving alternative to processing single brains. This reduces staining variability during immunohistochemistry and reduces time cryosectioning and imaging.