Spine Motility Analysis
Spine Motility Analysis - Related Videos
11:48
Analysis of Dendritic Spine Morphology in Cultured CNS Neurons
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Cited by 69 •
2011
Numerous recent studies have identified mutations in synaptic proteins associated with brain pathologies. Primary cultured cortical neurons offer great flexibility in examining the effects of these disease-associated proteins on dendritic spine morphology and motility.
08:15
Gastrointestinal Motility Monitor (GIMM)
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Cited by 36 •
2010
Evaluation of colonic motility in the guinea pig distal colon with the Gastrointestinal Motility Monitor (GIMM) is a straightforward and simple to learn approach to quantitatively evaluate propulsive motility in the gastrointestinal tract.
05:25
Quantification of Dendritic Spines Using Confocal Microscopy Imaging
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2025
Source: Gouder, et. al. Three-dimensional Quantification of Dendritic Spines from Pyramidal Neurons Derived from Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. J. Vis. Exp. (2015).This video demonstrates the imaging and analysis of dendritic spines in transduced, immunolabeled pyramidal neurons using confocal microscopy. Background noise is reduced, and dendrites are traced by estimating their diameter and length. Automated spine segmentation involves setting parameters for dendrite and spine dimensions...
02:49
Harvesting DRG from Rat Spine: A Procedure to Extract Dorsal Root Ganglion from the Spine of a Rat Model
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2023
In this video, we demonstrate the extraction of dorsal root ganglion or DRG from a harvested rat spine for downstream applications.
08:52
An Introduction to Cell Motility and Migration
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2023
Cell motility and migration play important roles in both normal biology and in disease. On one hand, migration allows cells to generate complex tissues and organs during development, but on the other hand, the same mechanisms are used by tumor cells to move and spread in a process known as cancer metastasis. One of the primary cellular machineries that make cell movement possible is an intracellular network of myosin and actin molecules, together known as “actomyosin”, which creates a...
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Actin cytoskeleton remodeling changes the structural properties of dendritic spines, producing measurable alterations in their shape, size, and position. These changes can appear as spine elongation, retraction, formation, or stabilization during time-lapse imaging. Relating structural measurements to actin-driven remodeling helps researchers interpret how cytoskeletal dynamics contribute to changing synaptic connections.
These events provide different indicators of structural change at neuronal connections. Formation and elongation can reflect the development or expansion of spine structures, whereas retraction indicates their loss or reduction. Stabilization identifies spines that persist over time. Tracking the balance among these outcomes helps connect spine dynamics with synaptic plasticity and experience-dependent changes.
Neuronal activity, experience, and molecular signals can shift the rates or patterns of spine formation, elongation, retraction, and stabilization. Spine motility analysis makes these effects visible by following structural changes across time rather than examining a single fixed state. This allows investigators to evaluate how cellular or environmental inputs influence the remodeling of synaptic connections.
A typical workflow uses live-cell or time-lapse fluorescence microscopy to observe dendritic spines repeatedly over time. Researchers follow individual protrusions and record changes in their shape, size, and position, then classify events such as formation, elongation, retraction, or stabilization. The resulting time-resolved measurements describe how spine structure changes during the observation period.
The method is useful when researchers need to examine structural changes in synaptic connections rather than only their presence at one time point. It supports studies of synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory by showing how spine populations change over time. It can also assess responses to neuronal activity, experience, or molecular signals that regulate connectivity.
Altered spine dynamics can provide a structural readout of changes in neuronal connectivity associated with neurological and psychiatric disorders. By measuring formation, retraction, elongation, and stabilization, investigators can identify how spine remodeling differs under disease-related conditions. These observations help relate microscopic changes in dendritic structure to broader disruptions in synaptic organization and function.