Targeted Neuronal Population
Targeted Neuronal Population - Related Videos
02:58
Immunofluorescent Staining of Neuronal Populations in the Embryonic Murine Gastrointestinal Tract
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2025
This video demonstrates the immunostaining of the embryonic murine gastrointestinal tract to visualize and analyze the neuronal population distribution using immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy.
13:32
Laser Capture Microdissection of Enriched Populations of Neurons or Single Neurons for Gene Expression Analysis After Traumatic Brain Injury
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Cited by 22 •
2013
We describe how to use laser capture microdissection (LCM) to obtain enriched populations of hippocampal neurons or single neurons from frozen sections of the injured rat brain for subsequent gene expression analysis using quantitative real time PCR and/or whole-genome microarrays.
06:04
Differentiating Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells into a Networked Neuron Population
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2025
This video demonstrates a technique for embryonic stem cell differentiation into a networked population of neurons with functioning synapses. It outlines the steps involved in embryonic stem cell differentiation into neurons, induction of neuronal network formation, and enrichment of the culture with networked neurons.
04:25
Simultaneous Eye Tracking and Single-Neuron Recording to Identify Target-Selective Neurons
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2025
The video demonstrates an assay to identify target-selective neurons via simultaneous eye-tracking and single-neuron recordings. A human participant is tasked with identifying a target object among an array of objects in a display, and the eye movement is tracked. Simultaneously, single neurons' firing rate is recorded via electrodes implanted in the brain. The data from both recordings are correlated to assess the presence of target-selective neurons.
07:08
A Method to Target and Isolate Airway-innervating Sensory Neurons in Mice
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Cited by 9 •
2016
Organ specific sensory neurons are difficult to identify. Fast Blue tracing is used to identify nodose neurons innervating the airways for cell sorting. Sorted nodose neurons are used to extract high quality ribonucleic acid (RNA) for sequencing. Using this protocol, gene expression of airway specific neurons is determined.
FAQs
Selection depends on the scientific question and on features that distinguish the cells from neighboring neurons. Researchers may prioritize shared molecular markers, anatomical position, connectivity with other regions, or physiological properties such as activity patterns. These criteria can be used separately or together, allowing investigators to relate neuronal identity to circuit function without treating every neuron in a region as equivalent.
A whole brain region can contain neurons with different identities, connections, and physiological roles. Focusing on a selected population helps separate these contributions, so changes in activity or behavior can be associated more closely with particular cells. This greater specificity is especially useful when distinct neuronal groups participate differently in sensory processing, learning, behavior, or disease-related changes.
Each criterion describes a different aspect of neuronal organization. Molecular markers indicate shared cellular features, anatomical location identifies where neurons reside, connectivity shows which circuits they engage, and physiological properties describe how they function. Combining these perspectives can produce a more informative characterization than relying on one feature alone, helping researchers examine how cell identity and circuit participation are related.
Specificity depends on how clearly the selected marker or property distinguishes the intended cells from other neurons. A useful strategy must align the selection criterion with the experimental goal, whether that goal concerns location, connectivity, activity, or molecular identity. Better specificity allows labeling, recording, stimulation, or inhibition to be interpreted as effects associated with the selected population rather than an entire region.
Researchers first identify a population using a molecular, anatomical, connectivity-based, or activity-related criterion. They then apply an appropriate method to label the cells or focus measurements on them. Depending on the question, the population may be recorded, stimulated, or inhibited, followed by analysis of circuit activity, behavior, sensory processing, learning, or disease-related changes.
This approach can connect a defined neuronal identity with changes in circuit activity and observable outcomes. Measurements may reveal how selected cells contribute to behavior, sensory processing, or learning, while comparisons across conditions can identify disease-related changes. Examining the population alongside interacting neurons also helps clarify how distinct cell types cooperate within neural circuits.
In neuroscience, they provide a framework for linking specific cellular groups to circuit operations and behavior rather than describing brain regions as uniform units. The same precision supports more focused experimental models of disease-related changes and may inform therapeutic strategies aimed at particular neuronal groups. Their study also helps explain interactions among cell types within complex neural circuits.