Dissection of Rat Brains
This protocol was adapted from “Techniques,” Section IV, in Discovering Neurons: The Experimental Basis of Neuroscience (eds. Paul et al.). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 1997.INTRODUCTION
In this protocol, the perfused brain of a rat is separated from the surrounding tissue and post-fixed in a formalin/sucrose solution in preparation for freezing and sectioning. Dissection should be done as soon as possible after perfusion to prevent desiccation of the brain. This procedure can also be used to dissect fresh (non-perfused) brains, for example, for Golgi-Cox stain or neurochemical assays.
