c-FOS+ Brain Mapping

Whole brain mapping of neural activity

c-FOS is a protein derived from immediate early gene expression and is recognized as a specific marker of neuronal activity throughout the mammalian brain. Through a variety of perturbations (e.g. drug treatments, external stimuli), expression levels become elevated. By detecting c-FOS+ cells throughout tissue volumes via immunolabeling, imaging, and analyses, neural activity can be visualized, mapped, and quantified throughout the brain.

We have perfected technology to label and image these cells throughout the CNS. We also offer robust models for detecting positive cells in murine brain samples and provide cell counts, densities, and heat maps quantifying levels of regional neural activity registered to the Allen Brain Atlas.

Header: c-FOS (green) and cell detection (red) in mouse hippocampus and cortex.

Process tissues for c-FOS expression

Upon receiving your samples for brain mapping, LifeCanvas technicians:

Prepare samples with SHIELD to preserve protein antigenicity
Actively clear and immunolabel samples with specific antibodies using SmartBatch+
Index-match samples with EasyIndex
Acquire volumetric light sheet images of samples with SmartSPIM
Analyze post-processed images with SmartAnalytics to derive cell counts, densities, heat maps, and graphical outputs

From brain samples to publishable data

You send us: PFA-fixed samples from your experimental animals

We deliver:

Regional cell counts registered to the Allen Brain Atlas
Heat maps showing localized levels of protein expression
Coronal views with Atlas overlays depicting detected cells throughout the whole brain volume