March 2015

March 2015:  Golgi-Cox stained pyramidal neuron located in the prefrontal cortex of a germ-free mouse

Submitted by: Pauline Luczynski M.Sc., Research Assistant , Neurogastroentorology Lab, Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre.

Pauline Luczynski is a research assistant working with Prof. John Cryan's Neurogasterenterology research group, based in the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre. Her work studying neural remodelling along the gut-brain-microbiota axis was carried out in conjunction with the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience.

The image depicts a Golgi-Cox stained pyramidal neuron located in the prefrontal cortex of a germ-free mouse. The Golgi-Cox stain randomly impregnates neurons, allowing the morphology of dendrites and spines to be studied using brightfield microscopy. The brain tissue was also stained with thionin (blue) to visualize cell layers. Brightfield image stacks were taken at 40x magnification using an OLYMPUS AX70 PROVIS microscope. Z-stacks were then merged using focus stacking software.