Construction and Use of Compartmented Cultures for Studies of Cell Biology of Neurons
The compartmented culture method has numerous features that make it useful for s
The compartmented culture method has numerous features that make it useful for studies of nerve fiber growth, among which are:
1. | Distal axons can be exposed to a different fluid and cellular environment than cell bodies and proximal axons, which is useful for studies of trophic, ionic, and pharmacological regulation of growth. |
2. | Distal axons can be removed (neuritotomy), and subsequently regenerate, which permits many useful approaches to the study of axon growth and regeneration. |
3. | Axons can be chronically electrically stimulated during growth and regeneration. |