Normal Anatomy, Types of Neuron
This image was produced using two photon microscopy, which allows fluorescent imaging of living tissue. The image shows the structure of cerebellar circuitry in a transgenic mouse. Interneurons in the cerebellum that express neuronal NOS (Nitiric Oxide Synthetase) enzyme are shown in green and two of the Purkinje cells in the Purkinje cell layer are shown in red.
A grasshopper was immunostained with antibodies against horseradish peroxidase (anti-Hrp) to reveal the nervous system (Cyan) and the proteins Pax2.3 (red), and visualized using confocal miscroscopy.
False colour scanning electron micrograph showing cellular organelles present in a spiral ganglion neuron. The structures shown in red/orange are mitochondria - these are the energy production units of the cell. The structure in blue is the golgi apparatus, which is responsible for packaging and secreating lipids and proteins for transport around the cell. These organelles are found in all eukaryotic (plant and animal) cells. This particular image shows organelles in a spiral ganglion neuron. This is a specialist nerve cell of the inner ear that transmits sound signals from the cochlea to the brain.
Neuronal migration is an artwork depicting many very young neurons that have been produced in the neuroepithelium migrating to their appropriate destinations in the brain. This image highlights the future of neuroscience showing different classes of cells colour coded. There is no available technique to do this now, but it is not far off considering the advances that have been made with brainbow mice. The brainbow technique allows for different cell types to be tagged with fluorescent proteins to track their development and connections with other cells.
A cluster of cerebellar granule neurons in culture. These neurons naturally aggregate when placed in culture forming a cluster of cell bodies (blue) that send out neurites rich in microtubules (red and green). Fluorescence microscopy.
A cluster of a special type of nerve cells called cerebellar granule cells, growing in culture. These cells naturally gather together, and when placed in a culture dish covered in a particular protein, they start sending out long projections (yellow/green) as they would in the developing brain. Fluorescence microscopy.
