title: Rapid Golgi analysis method for efficient and unbiased classification of dendritic spines.
abstract: Dendritic spines are the primary recipients of excitatory synaptic input in the brain. Spine morphology provides important information on the functional state of ongoing synaptic transmission. One of the most commonly used methods to visualize spines is Golgi-Cox staining, which is appealing both due to ease of sample preparation and wide applicability to multiple species including humans. However, the classification of spines is a time-consuming and often expensive task that yields widely varying results between individuals. Here, we present a novel approach to this analysis technique that uses the unique geometry of different spine shapes to categorize spines on a purely objective basis. This rapid Golgi spine analysis method successfully conveyed the maturational shift in spine types during development in the mouse primary visual cortex. This approach, built upon freely available software, can be utilized by researchers studying a broad range of synaptic connectivity phenotypes in both development and disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America; Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: W Christopher
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Risher
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Tuna
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ustunkaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Jonnathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Singh Alvarado
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America; Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America; Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America.
authors.forename: Cagla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eroglu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049229:Dendritic Spines / Q000145:classification* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D051379:Mice; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016622:Silver Staining / Q000379:methods*; D012984:Software; D013997:Time Factors; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000648:ultrastructure