Histological Methods

Abstract

A very important part of research involving the study of brain-behavior relationships is verifying the effectiveness or extent of the brain manipulation that was performed. When brain recording or brain stimulation has been done, the precise location of the tip of a recording or stimulating electrode must be determined. When brain lesion or brain infusion has been used, it is important to establish the extent of the lesion or the spread of the compound that was infused into the brain. Researchers use histological methods to establish electrode position or lesion extent. We include a wide range of techniques in our definition of histological methods including the perfusion and removal of the brain from the animal as well as the entire process of cutting the brain, mounting it onto slides, staining the tissue, examining the slides under a microscope, and recording the results. Basic histological technique has been described in a number of places (e.g., Clark and Clark, 1971; Coolidge and Howard, 1979; Hart, 1969; LaBossiere and Glickstein, 1976; Lauber, 1970; Oakley and Schafer, 1978; Presnell and Schreibman, 1997; Sheehan and Hrapchak, 1980; Skinner, 1971; Wolf, 1971) and interested readers are encouraged to look at these sources for more details than we can provide in this relatively brief chapter.