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Updated: Jul 20, 2026
Analysis of Dendritic Spine Morphology in Cultured CNS Neurons
Published on: July 13, 2011
3-D confocal laser scanning microscopy used in morphometric analysis of rat Purkinje cell dendritic spines after
S Wenisch1, B Fortmann, T Steinmetz
1Institute of Veterinary-Anatomy, -Histology and -Embryology, University of Giessen, Germany.
Abstract:
A confocal laser scanning microscope (with a 543 nm laser) was used for imaging rat Purkinje cell dendritic spines at high 3-D resolution. In a nutritionally controlled study of the rat, 5 months of ethanol consumption was demonstrated to alter the spines of Purkinje cell dendrites in rat cerebellum. Intact spines showed significant elongation after ethanol exposure, whereas this neuromorphological alteration could not be detected in controls. Spine elongation could be regarded as compensative growth of spines in search of new synaptic contacts due to alcohol induced cell loss.
