Services
In order to meet the imaging demands of neuroscience investigators, the Neuroscience Microscopy Core (NMC):
1. Provides technical expertise and state of the art imaging systems to support projects exploring the mechanisms underlying neural development, function, and neurological disorders.
Technologies supported include:
- Confocal and widefield imaging of labeled neural tissue, including automated tiling and optimized imaging instrumentation
- Automated, in vitro, time-lapse imaging of neurons and glia in brain slices and other ex vivo preparations
- Light-sheet and confocal imaging of tissue-cleared neural cells and brain structures in the context of the whole nervous system or organs
- Advanced Linux and Windows workstations for data analysis
2. Provides technical expertise and imaging technologies for studying the temporal dynamics of neural development and connectivity in normal and genetic models of neurological disorders in vivo and in whole mount preparations.
Technologies supported include:
- In vivo imaging methods to visualize the spatiotemporal dynamics of neuronal generation, migration and connectivity in intact, living embryonic brains, organoids, and cells.
- Light-sheet techniques to visualize structure and connectivity in neural circuits whole mount preparations
- Advanced Linux and Windows workstations for data analysis
3. Serves as a resource for advanced microscopy training to neuroscience graduate students and post-doctoral fellows in UNC Neuroscience labs.
The Core Staff:
- Schedules and provides routine hands on training sessions on the use of NMC microscopes
- Consults and collaborates on projects that require advanced imaging techniques
- Organizes and runs a graduate course (CBPH710/NBIO710) on the principles and application of advanced microscopy for neuroscience.