Visualizing the Effects of a Positive Early Experience, Tactile Stimulation, on Dendritic Morphology and Synaptic Connectivity with Golgi-Cox Staining

This paper describes the procedures for tactile stimulation of rat pups and subsequent Golgi-Cox staining of neuronal morphology. Tactile stimulation is a positive experience that is administered in the perinatal period by stroking pups with a household duster. Golgi-cox staining is a reliable procedure permitting the visualization of entire neurons.