Confocal microscopy used for the semiautomatic quantification of the changes in aminoacidergic fibers during spinal cord regeneration

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) causes permanent functional deficits in mammals, and therefore it constitutes a public health and economic problem. Changes in the different spinal neurotransmitters systems have been observed after the injury. In this chapter, we describe a very useful method to quantify the changes in the number of fibers in the spinal neurotransmitters systems. This method combines confocal microscopy together with the use of appropriate free computer software. Standardizing this type of studies will be very useful to compare results between studies. This method can also be used with bright-field microscopy and be adapted to other experimental conditions and animal models. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.