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Abstract

Neuroscience

Imaging and Quantification of Intact Neuronal Dendrites via CLARITY Tissue Clearing

Published: April 20th, 2021

DOI:

10.3791/62532

1Department of Genetics and Genomics, Baylor College of Medicine, 2Medical Scientist Training Program, Baylor College of Medicine, 3Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine

Abstract

Brain activity, the electrochemical signals passed between neurons, is determined by the connectivity patterns of neuronal networks, and from the morphology of processes and substructures within these neurons. As such, much of what is known about brain function has arisen alongside developments in imaging technologies that allow further insight into how neurons are organized and connected in the brain. Improvements in tissue clearing have allowed for high-resolution imaging of thick brain slices, facilitating morphological reconstruction and analyses of neuronal substructures, such as dendritic arbors and spines. In tandem, advances in image processing software provide methods of quickly analyzing large imaging datasets. This work presents a relatively rapid method of processing, visualizing, and analyzing thick slices of labeled neural tissue at high-resolution using CLARITY tissue clearing, confocal microscopy, and image analysis. This protocol will facilitate efforts toward understanding the connectivity patterns and neuronal morphologies that characterize healthy brains, and the changes in these characteristics that arise in diseased brain states.

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Keywords CLARITY

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