Targeted approaches to delineate neuronal morphology during early development

Bimin Liu; Yuxiao Li; Miao Ren; Xiangning Li

doi:10.3389/fncel.2023.1259360

Targeted approaches to delineate neuronal morphology during early development

Front Cell Neurosci. 2023 Oct 3:17:1259360. doi: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1259360. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Bimin Liu^{1

2}, Yuxiao Li^{1

2}, Miao Ren^{1

2}, Xiangning Li^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Digital Medical Engineering, School of Biomedical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
² Key Laboratory of Biomedical Engineering of Hainan Province, School of Biomedical Engineering, Hainan University, Haikou, China.
³ Research Unit of Multimodal Cross Scale Neural Signal Detection and Imaging, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, HUST-Suzhou Institute for Brainsmatics, JITRI, Suzhou, China.

Abstract

Understanding the developmental changes that affect neurons is a key step in exploring the assembly and maturation of neural circuits in the brain. For decades, researchers have used a number of labeling techniques to visualize neuronal morphology at different stages of development. However, the efficiency and accuracy of neuronal labeling technologies are limited by the complexity and fragility of neonatal brains. In this review, we illustrate the various labeling techniques utilized for examining the neurogenesis and morphological changes occurring during the early stages of development. We compare the advantages and limitations of each technique from different aspects. Then, we highlight the gaps remaining in our understanding of the structure of neurons in the neonatal mouse brain.

Keywords: development; morphology; neonatal mice; neural circuit; neural labeling.

Publication types

Review