Morphological differentiation of nerve cells in thin organotypic cultures derived from rat hippocampus and cerebellum.

Explants of cerebellum and hippocampus were cultured by means of the roller-tube technique. Large nerve cells such as Purkinje cells and pyramidal cells were injected with the fluorescent dye lucifer yellow. The results demonstrate that cultured neurons grow dendritic arborizations in a pattern that is reminiscent of their in situ counterparts. This finding supports the view that under the described culturing conditions nerve cells show a high degree of differentiation despite an altered biochemical and topographical environment.