Selective culture of rat CNS neurons in a synthetic medium.

A Chemically Defined Medium is described which facilitates the survival of neurons in primary cultures of rat cerebral hemispheres. More than 90% of all cells were identified as neurons using neurofilament as a marker in an immunocytochemical assay. In contrast, serum-supplemented medium, by stimulating nonneuronal cell proliferation, hinders the survival of neurons in culture.