Organotypic slice co-culture systems to study axon regeneration in the dopaminergic system ex vivo

Organotypic slice co-cultures are suitable tools to study axonal regeneration and development (growth or regrowth) of different projection systems of the CNS under ex vivo conditions.In this chapter, we describe in detail the reconstruction of the mesocortical and nigrostriatal dopaminergic projection system culturing tissue slices from the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN) with the prefrontal cortex (PFC) or the striatum (STR). The protocol includes the detailed slice preparation and incubation. Moreover, different application possibilities of the ex vivo model are mentioned; as an example, the substance treatment procedure and biocytin tracing are described to reveal the effect of applied substances on fiber outgrowth.