Tracing neuronal connections in postmortem human hippocampal complex with the carbocyanine dye DiI

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This report describes the ability of the carbocyanine dye DiI to trace hippocampal complex connections in a paraformaldehyde immersion-fixed human postmortem brain. Six months after the placement of DiI crystals into the hilus of the dentate gyrus, the CA1 hippocampal subfield and the lateral entorhinal cortex, 50-μm thick, vibratome cut sections were examined using an epifluorescence microscope with a rhodamine filter. In association with DiI-labeled granule, pyramidal and multipolar type neurons, we observed dendrites containing dendritic spines and axons. DiI-labeled fibers were observed coursing within classically described hippocampal pathways for at least 8 mm distal to the injection site. Photoconversion of diaminobenzidine (DAB)-treated DiI sections produced a stable record of labeled profiles. These findings indicate that DiI is a useful method for investigating intrinsic local circuit connections in normal aldehyde-fixed postmortem human brain and suggests that DiI could be a powerful tool to examine altered neural connectivity in humans with neurological disease. © 1990.

Keywords

Brain, Dye DiI, Fluorescence, Hippocampus, Human, Neuron, Postmortem, Retrograde

Publication Date

1-1-1990

Publication Title

Neurobiology of Aging

ISSN

01974580

Volume

11

Issue

6

First Page

649

Last Page

653

PubMed ID

1704107

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1016/0197-4580(90)90031-T

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