How do you dissect hippocampus from rat brain?
Jessica Cortez
Updated on April 02, 2026
To collect the hippocampus, put the ventral side of the brain up and then remove midbrain to expose the hippocampus. Dissect the hippocampus from the cortex using two Dumont No. 5 forceps. Flash freeze the specimen in liquid nitrogen and store at -80°C.
How do you dissect the hypothalamus?
Place the brain with the medial face up (you must look the medial face) and compare the hypothalamus in atlas to the brain you have in front of you. After this, place a pipette tip in the region of the brain and slowly press it. The pipette tip will cut this region. It will be easier if you have coronal slices.
What makes up the hippocampus?
Hippocampus contains two parts: Cornu ammonis (hippocampus proper) and dentate gyrus. Both of these parts are separated by hippocampal sulcus and curve into each other. Below the sulcus lies subiculum. Since hippocampus is a part of allocortex (archicortex), there is a zone that separates it from neocortex.
What are acute brain slices?
Definition. Brain slices are ex vivo preparations obtained by serial sectioning of brain tissue, typically from rats or mice. Acute brain slices are kept vital in vitro for time periods between four and, sometimes, more than twenty-four hours and contain a functional brain cell micro-circuitry in situ.
How do you increase your hippocampus?
Treating Hippocampus Damage (Helping the Brain Repair Itself)
- Exercise. Exercise, particularly aerobic exercise, is one of the best ways to boost BDNF levels and improve hippocampal function.
- Stimulate Your Brain. Keeping your brain stimulated can also increase hippocampus function.
- Change Your Diet.
Where is the hippocampus located in the rat brain?
Hippocampus of the Rat. The hippocampal formation is a bilateral structure sandwiched between the cerebral cortex and the thalamus. Figure 1 depicts a reconstruction of the hippocampus (yellow) in its three-dimensional (3D) position within the rat’s brain. These 3D reconstructions were made from the serial sections of LONI’s Rat Brain Atlas.
How were these 3D reconstructions of the rat brain made?
These 3D reconstructions were made from the serial sections of LONI’s Rat Brain Atlas. A section through the middle of the brain (Figure 2) shows the hippocampal formation in cross-section.
What does Nissl staining show in the hippocampus?
In Nissl-stained sections the cell bodies of neurons, which contain a lot of rough endoplasmic reticulum, appear as dark granules at low magnification. The pattern of granular and molecular layers within the hippocampal formation is clearer at higher magnification (Figure 4).
