One of December’s featured protocols comes from Azad Bonni’s lab at Harvard, and describes the culture of granule neurons from the post-natal rat cerebellum. From the article’s introduction:

“Primary cultures of granule neurons from the post-natal rat cerebellum provide an excellent model system for molecular and cell biological studies of neuronal development and function. The cerebellar cortex, with its highly organized structure and few neuronal subtypes, offers a well-characterized neural circuitry. Many fundamental insights into the processes of neuronal apoptosis, migration, and differentiation in the mammalian central nervous system have come from investigating granule neurons in vitro. Granule neurons are the most abundant type of neurons in the brain. In addition to the sheer volume of granule neurons, the homogeneity of the population and the fact that they can be transfected with ease render them ideal for elucidating the molecular basis of neuronal development.”

Like all of our featured articles, Cultures of Cerebellar Granule Neurons is freely available to subscribers and non-subscribers alike.