Clearing techniques for visualizing the nervous system in development, injury, and disease

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biotechnology
• Microscopy

Background:

• Advanced clearing techniques allow for high-resolution 3D visualization of cellular structures in large biological samples.
• These methods are increasingly used to study the complex nervous system, offering unprecedented insights.
• Different clearing methods are suited for specific applications and specimen types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review findings from studies using clearing methods to visualize the nervous system in various states (developing, injured, diseased).
• To identify trends and imbalances in research questions addressed by clearing methods in neuroscience.
• To discuss limitations of applying these methods to human and large animal postmortem tissues and highlight a lack of continuity in studies.

Main Methods:

• Review of select studies utilizing various optical clearing techniques.
• Analysis of research questions and model systems employed in the field.
• Discussion of limitations and challenges in applying clearing methods to specific tissues.

Main Results:

• Optical clearing methods provide detailed 3D reconstructions of neural structures.
• Significant progress has been made in visualizing the developing, injured, and diseased nervous system.
• There are disparities in research focus and limitations in applying methods to large animal and human tissues.

Conclusions:

• Tissue clearing is a powerful tool for neuroscience research, offering insights into neuronal development, injury, and disease.
• Further standardization and application are needed for human and large animal studies.
• This review serves as an outline of available methods for addressing key neuroscience questions.