Imaging High-Resolution Structure of GFP-Expressing Neurons in Neocortex In Vivo
- 1 November 2000
- journal article
- Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Learning & Memory
- Vol. 7 (6) , 433-441
- https://doi.org/10.1101/lm.32700
Abstract
To detect subtle changes in neuronal morphology in response to changes in experience, one must image neurons at high resolution in vivo over time scales of minutes to days. We accomplished this by infecting postmitotic neurons in rat and mouse barrel cortex with a Sindbis virus carrying the gene for enhanced green fluorescent protein. Visualized with 2-photon excitation laser scanning microscopy, infected neurons showed bright fluorescence that was distributed homogeneously throughout the cell, including axonal and dendritic arbors. Single dendritic spines could routinely be resolved and their morphological dynamics visualized. Viral infection and imaging were achieved throughout postnatal development up to early adulthood (P 8–30), although the viral efficiency of infection decreased with age. This relatively noninvasive method for fluorescent labeling and imaging of neurons allows the study of morphological dynamics of neocortical neurons and their circuits in vivo.Keywords
This publication has 56 references indexed in Scilit:
- Swelling of dendritic spines in the fascia dentata after stimulation of the perforant fibers as a mechanism of post-tetanic potentiationPublished by Elsevier ,2004
- THE GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEINAnnual Review of Biochemistry, 1998
- Organotypic slice cultures: a technique has come of ageTrends in Neurosciences, 1997
- Intravital imaging of green fluorescent protein using two-photon laser-scanning microscopyGene, 1996
- Engineering green fluorescent protein for improved brightness, longer wavelengths and fluorescence resonance energy transferCurrent Biology, 1996
- Green Fluorescent Protein as a Marker for Gene ExpressionScience, 1994
- Developing corticorubral axons of the cat form synapses on filopodial dendritic protrusionsNeuroscience Letters, 1992
- Changes in the numerical density of synaptic contacts with long‐term potentiation in the hippocampal dentate gyrusJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1986
- Dendritic plasticity in mouse barrel cortex following postnatal vibrissa follicle damageJournal of Comparative Neurology, 1981
- Long-lasting morphological changes in dendritic spines of dentate granular cells following stimulation of the entorhinal areaJournal of Neurocytology, 1977