Dissecting the Non-human Primate Brain in Stereotaxic Space
Summary
The non-human primate is an important translational species for our understanding of the normal processing of the brain. The anatomical organization of the primate brain can provide important insights into normal and pathological conditions in humans.
Abstract
The use of non-human primates provides an excellent translational model for our understanding of developmental and aging processes in humans1-6. In addition, the use of non-human primates has recently afforded the opportunity to naturally model complex psychiatric disorders such as alcohol abuse7. Here we describe a technique for blocking the brain in the coronal plane of the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus aethiops sabeus) in the intact skull in stereotaxic space. The method described here provides a standard plane of section between blocks and subjects and minimizes partial sections between blocks. Sectioning a block of tissue in the coronal plane also facilitates the delineation of an area of interest. This method provides manageable sized blocks since a single hemisphere of the vervet monkey yields more than 1200 sections when slicing at 50μm. Furthermore by blocking the brain into 1cm blocks, it facilitates penetration of sucrose for cyroprotection and allows the block to be sliced on a standard cryostat.
Protocol
Part 1: Pre-processing of tissue Tissue should be well perfused with paraformaldehyde, glutaraldehyde, or formalin. This can be achieved through standard transcardial perfusion typically used to harvest other organs. In the present study the subject was deeply sedated with ketamine hydrochloride (10 mg/kg, i.m.), euthanized with an overdose of sodium pentobarbital (25 mg/kg, i.v.) and perfused transcardially with 0.1 M PBS until completely exsanguinated.This is followed by a 4% paraformaldehyde solution in PBS…
Discussion
The St. Kitts vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops sabeus) is an Old World primate with similar patterns and rates of cortical and subcortical brain development to that of humans. This species has been used to model complex human behavioral disorders like anxious behavior, hypertension8, hemispherectomy9, Parkinson’s disease10, Alzhemier’s disease11, and alcohol abuse12. More recently, this species has been used to study the neuroanatomical effects of na…
Declarações
The authors have nothing to disclose.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Ikiel Ptito for his continued technical support. NSERC grant to MP.
Materials
| Material Name | Tipo | Company | Catalogue Number | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scalpel | Fine Science Tools | 10003-12 | ||
| Scalpel blades | Fine Science Tools | 10011-00 | ||
| Scissors | Fine Science Tools | 14090-11 | Any surgical scissors are sufficient | |
| Rongeurs | Fine Science Tools | 16121-14 | ||
| Forceps | Fine Science Tools | 11027-12 | ||
| Filter paper | Fisher | 09-924-150 | ||
| Stereotaxic Frame | Kopf Instruments | |||
| Tissue slicing blade | Thomas |
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Tags
Non-human Primate BrainStereotaxic SpaceTranslational ModelDevelopmental ProcessesAging ProcessesComplex Psychiatric DisordersAlcohol AbuseCoronal PlaneVervet MonkeyIntact SkullStereotaxic SpaceStandard Plane Of SectionPartial SectionsManageable Sized BlocksHemisphereSlicingSucrose PenetrationCyroprotectionCryostat
Citar este artigo
Burke, M. W., Zangenehpour, S., Boire, D., Ptito, M. Dissecting the Non-human Primate Brain in Stereotaxic Space. J. Vis. Exp. (29), e1259, doi:10.3791/1259 (2009).