5 Research Methods Flashcards
Lesion study
experimental ablation
Experimental ablation
The removal or destruction of a portion of the brain laboratory animal; presumably the functions that can no longer be performed are ones the region previously controlled.
Excitotoxic lesion
brain lesion produce by intracerebral injection of an excitatory amino acid, such as kainic acid.
Sham lesion
Placebo procedure that duplicates all the steps of producing a brain lesion except the one that actually causes the brain damage.
Stereotaxic surgery
Brain surgery using stereotaxic apparatus to position and electrode or cannula in a specified position of the brain.
Bregma
Junction of the sagittal and coronal sutures of the skull; often used as a reference point for stereotaxic brain surgery.
Stereotaxic atlas
Collection of drawings of sections of the brain of a particular animal with measurements that provide coordinates for stereotaxic surgery.
Stereotaxic apparatus
Device that permits the surgeon to position and electrode or cannula into a specific part of the brain.
Fixative
Chemical such as formalin; used to prepare and preserve body tissue.
Formalin
Aqueous solution of formaldehyde gas; the most commonly used tissue fixative.
Perfusion
Process by which an animal’s blood is replaced by a fluid such as saline solution or fixative in preparing the brain for histological examination.
Microtome
Instrument that produces very thin slices of body tissues.
Transmission electron microscope
Microscope that passes a focused beam of electrons through thin slices of tissue to reveal extremely small details.
Scanning electron microscope
Microscope that provides three-dimensional information about the shape of the surface of a small object by scanning the object with a sin beam of electrons.
Confocal laser scanning microscope
Microscope that provides high-resolution images of various depths of thick tissue that contains fluorescent molecules by scanning the tissue with light from a laser beam.
Anterograde labeling method
Histological method that labels the axons and terminal buttons of neurons whose cell bodies are located in a particular region.
PHA-L
Phaseolus vulgaris leukoagglutinin; protein derived from kidney beans and used as an anterograde tracer; taken up by dendrites and cell bodies and carried to the ends of the axons.
Immunocytochemical method
Histological method that uses radioactive antibodies or antibodies bound with a dye molecule to indicate the presence of particular proteins of peptides.
Retrograde labeling method
Histological method that label cell bodies that give rise to the terminal buttons that form synapses with cells in a particular region.
Fluorogold
Dye that serves as a retrograde label; taken up by terminal buttons and carried back to the cell bodies.
Pseudorabies virus
Weakened form of pig herpesvirus use for retrograde transneuronal tracing, which labels a series of neurons that are interconnected synaptically.
Herpes simplex virus
Form of herpesvirus used for anterograde transneuronal tracing, which labels a series of neurons that are interconnected synaptically.
Computerized tomography (CT)
Use of a device that employs a computer to analyze data obtained by scanning beam of x-rays to produce two-dimensional picture of a “slice” through the body.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Technique whereby the interior of the body can be accurately imaged; involves the interaction between radio waves and a strong magnetic field.
