What does the Golgi stain allow yo to visualise?
Individual nerve cells, unique property of completely staining a few cells in the specimen
E.g. pyramindal neurone- cell body and dendritic processes
Which of the illustrated methods can be used to map specific pathways of axons?
Tract tracing
What is tract tracing?
When horseradish peroxidase (HRP) injected into thalamus where tips of axons in that region picket it up
What is retrograde transport?
From the axon to the cell body
What is anterograde transport?
From the cell body to the synapse
What technique would you use to identify specific cell types and/or components of cells?
Immunocytochemistry
What does immunocyctochemistry virus utilise?
The precise antigen specificity of antibodies
What are the steps of immunocytochemistry?
Antibody is conjugated with a dye, or enzyme and then applied to the tissue being studied
Antibodies bind to the antigen thus localising the dye or attached enzyme at the site of the target molecule
Enhanced by using a signal amplification method
What are the two cytoskeletal components which can be used to identify neurons?
Microtubules
Neurofilaments
What do microtubules do in the cytoskeletal components?
Form axonal part of cytoskeleton
What do neurofilaments do in cytoskeletal components?
Intermediate filaments specific to the neuron
What method should be used to detect cytoskeletal components?
Immunolabelled neurones- antibodies raised against molecules associated with neuronal cytoskeleton
What are pyramidal neurons?
Output neurons, sending their axons to other regons of the cortex and to deeper structures of the brain