Neurolucida, NeuroInfo Aids NIH GENSAT Project

The developing and adult central nervous system of the mouse is complex and large. NIH Neuroscientist Dr. Charles Gerfen uses Neurolucida and NeuroInfo to collect, display, and share virtual slides with the research community.

Recently, Dr. Gerfen requested software enhancements to better allow him to categorize and use his virtual slide data in mouse brain testing. We were happy to comply.

Dr. Gerfen explains how he uses NeuroInfo to organize and display his data: “As part of the NINDS GENSAT Project, in collaboration with Professor Nat Heintz at Rockefeller University, transgenic mice are developed in which Cre-recombinase is expressed in specific neuron cell types or brain regions under regulation of specific gene promoters. These Cre driver lines produce functional expression of Cre, which is analyzed by crosses to a Rosa26-EGFP reporter mouse.”

“For each Cre driver line, our website presents a series of coronal brain sections from the olfactory tubercle to the brainstem. Expression patterns may be compared between Cre driver lines based on the regional distribution and by coronal level. For example, for the lines with expression in the hippocampus, it is possible to easily compare levels through selected levels of the different lines. Similar comparisons may be made for cortical, thalamic, hypothalamic, and other brain regions.”

“In addition, viewed sections may be viewed easily at different resolutions, providing both regional pattern as well as very high resolution images.”

“At this point there are over 50 distinct Cre driver lines in the database.”

– Charles R. Gerfen, Ph.D.

See Dr. Gerfen’s virtual slide database at http://genebrainsystems.nimh.nih.gov/index.jsp.