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Updated: May 17, 2026

Micron-scale Resolution Optical Tomography of Entire Mouse Brains with Confocal Light Sheet Microscopy

Micron-scale Resolution Optical Tomography of Entire Mouse Brains with Confocal Light Sheet Microscopy

Published on: October 8, 2013

Staining and embedding the whole mouse brain for electron microscopy.

Shawn Mikula¹, Jonas Binding, Winfried Denk

¹Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg, Germany. Shawn.Mikula@mpimf-heidelberg.mpg.de

|October 23, 2012

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Researchers developed a novel electron microscopy method for imaging entire mouse brains. This technique allows for uniform myelin staining and ultrastructure preservation, enabling single-axon level mapping.

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Microscopy
Biotechnology

Background:

Mapping neural circuits requires high-resolution imaging of large brain volumes.
Current electron microscopy techniques face challenges in imaging entire brains at the single-axon level.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and validate a method for imaging the entire mouse brain at the single-axon level using electron microscopy.
To enable comprehensive connectomics research through improved tissue preparation and imaging.

Main Methods:

Developed a prolonged immersion method for staining and embedding the entire mouse brain.
Achieved uniform myelin staining and moderate ultrastructure preservation.
Utilized serial block-face electron microscopy to trace myelinated axons.

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Preparation of Mouse Brain Tissue for Immunoelectron Microscopy

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Free-floating Immunostaining of Mouse Brains

Free-floating Immunostaining of Mouse Brains

Published on: October 7, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 17, 2026

Micron-scale Resolution Optical Tomography of Entire Mouse Brains with Confocal Light Sheet Microscopy

Micron-scale Resolution Optical Tomography of Entire Mouse Brains with Confocal Light Sheet Microscopy

Published on: October 8, 2013

Preparation of Mouse Brain Tissue for Immunoelectron Microscopy

Preparation of Mouse Brain Tissue for Immunoelectron Microscopy

Published on: July 20, 2010

Free-floating Immunostaining of Mouse Brains

Free-floating Immunostaining of Mouse Brains

Published on: October 7, 2021

Main Results:

Successfully stained and embedded the entire mouse brain with consistent myelin staining.
Demonstrated the ability to follow individual myelinated axons throughout large brain volumes.
Preserved moderate tissue ultrastructure suitable for detailed analysis.

Conclusions:

The developed method is effective for large-volume electron microscopy of the mouse brain.
This technique facilitates high-resolution connectomics and neural circuit mapping.
Advances the potential for complete single-axon level mapping of whole brains.