Computer‐aided reconstructive morphology of the baboon abducens nucleus

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Abstract
Our previous effort at reconstructive morphology included the marriage of the horseradish perioxidase (HRP) neurohistochemical method to a Lucite plate reconstruction technique. Limitations imposed by this combination of methods has led us to develop a computer‐based system that utilizes image‐processing techniques and the data obtained from HRP processed serial light microscope sections. Labeled neurons of the baboon abducens nucleus were identified by HRP conjugated to wheat germ agglutinin. Using the resulting serial sections and a unique imaging process involving a pattern recognition algorithm, our computer‐based system automatically differentiates neuronal from nonneuronal features, delineates the surface boundaries of the neuronal population, and then assembles these serial sections into a solid three‐dimensional structure that can be rotated and further analyzed. A computer‐generated solid model of this neuronal population has been reconstructed and reproduced in a two‐dimensional publishable format. It is anticipated that with further development this system will be able to utilize data from the same specimen to study spatial relations through three‐dimensional reconstruction, as well as to study the quantitative morphology of a neuronal population. Other computer‐aided systems are noted, as are the advantages and shortcomings of the present method.