QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, March 9, 2005, 25(10):2518-2521; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4526-04.2005

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (27) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Herculano-Houzel, S. Articles by Lent, R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Herculano-Houzel, S. Articles by Lent, R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

BRIEF COMMUNICATION
Isotropic Fractionator: A Simple, Rapid Method for the Quantification of Total Cell and Neuron Numbers in the Brain

Suzana Herculano-Houzel and Roberto Lent

Departamento de Anatomia, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 21941-590

Stereological techniques that estimate cell numbers must be restricted to well defined structures of isotropic architecture and therefore do not apply to the whole brain or to large neural regions. We developed a novel, fast, and inexpensive method to quantify total numbers of neuronal and non-neuronal cells in the brain or any dissectable regions thereof. It consists of transforming highly anisotropic brain structures into homogeneous, isotropic suspensions of cell nuclei, which can be counted and identified immunocytochemically as neuronal or non-neuronal. Estimates of total cell, neuronal, and non-neuronal numbers can be obtained in 24 h and vary by <10% among animals. Because the estimates obtained are independent of brain volume, they can be used in comparative studies of brain-volume variation among species and in studies of phylogenesis, development, adult neurogenesis, and pathology. Applying this method to the adult rat brain, we show, for example, that it contains 330 million cells, of which 200 million are neurons, and almost 70% of these are located in the cerebellum alone. Moreover, contrary to what is commonly assumed in the literature, we show that glial cells are not the majority in the rat brain.

Key words: cerebellum; cortex; glia; neuron; evolution; morphometry

---

Received Nov 4, 2004; revised January 19, 2005; accepted January 21, 2005.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Bandeira, R. Lent, and S. Herculano-Houzel Changing numbers of neuronal and non-neuronal cells underlie postnatal brain growth in the rat PNAS, August 18, 2009; 106(33): 14108 - 14113. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Herculano-Houzel, C. E. Collins, P. Wong, J. H. Kaas, and R. Lent From the Cover: The basic nonuniformity of the cerebral cortex PNAS, August 26, 2008; 105(34): 12593 - 12598. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. C. Dugas, W. Mandemakers, M. Rogers, A. Ibrahim, R. Daneman, and B. A. Barres A Novel Purification Method for CNS Projection Neurons Leads to the Identification of Brain Vascular Cells as a Source of Trophic Support for Corticospinal Motor Neurons J. Neurosci., August 13, 2008; 28(33): 8294 - 8305. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Herculano-Houzel, C. E. Collins, P. Wong, and J. H. Kaas Cellular scaling rules for primate brains PNAS, February 27, 2007; 104(9): 3562 - 3567. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Herculano-Houzel, B. Mota, and R. Lent Cellular scaling rules for rodent brains PNAS, August 8, 2006; 103(32): 12138 - 12143. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. I. Levin, Z. M. Khaliq, T. K. Aman, T. M. Grieco, J. A. Kearney, I. M. Raman, and M. H. Meisler Impaired Motor Function in Mice With Cell-Specific Knockout of Sodium Channel Scn8a (NaV1.6) in Cerebellar Purkinje Neurons and Granule Cells J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2006; 96(2): 785 - 793. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help