Do synapses distribute uniformly along axonal branches?

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Morphological analysis of axonal projection is commonly used in the research of neural circuitry. To determine whether the density of axonal branches represents functional significance of the projection, I made a plan to map the location of synapses on axonal branches using thalamocortical projections of mice. In the present study, I have developed a novel method to introduce a plasmid into thalamic neurons using in vivo electroporation technique. The present method enables to target a few cells in the deep brain region which is identified physiologically and induce a strong expression of fluorescent proteins enough to visualize entire axonal arborization. Multiple plasmids could be introduced simultaneously using this method. Also, the present method can be applicable not only to mice but also to higher mammals as cats.