Tracking Neural Migration in Dentate Gyrus Using Thymidine Analogs

The hippocampus belongs to the limbic system in the human brain and plays essential roles in memory consolidation and spatial navigation. Correct cytoarchitecture of the hippocampus is required for its physiological functioning, and disruption of this structure by proliferative or neuronal migration defects during development could cause various neuropsychiatric diseases. Focusing on the dentate gyrus, abnormalities in this structure contribute to diseases like schizophrenia, epilepsy, or even conditions related to aging. Therefore, techniques are needed to identify alterations in processes like proliferation and migration that are difficult to detect with classical histopathology. Here, we describe a step-by-step method to identify newly generated cells in the dentate gyrus and their migration within the granule cell layer. Using thymidine analogs to detect the proliferative population and image processing to quantify both dividing and migrating cells, we can detect defects in those mechanisms.