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. 2013 Apr 25;8(4):e58996. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0058996

Figure 3. Synaptic Density in 15 and 120 DIV Hippocampal Cultures.

Figure 3

A confocal laser scanning microscope image of 15 (A) and 120 DIV (B) E18 hippocampal cultures at 40X magnification. Cultures were immunostained for MAP-2 (red) and Synapsin (green). In comparison to 15 DIV, the 120 DIV cultures display a higher density of synaptic puncta. While overall synapse count is greater in the 15 DIV image (2,201 versus 1,898) there is a corresponding increase in total neurite area compared to the 120 DIV image. Thus, when synapse count relative to total neurite area is normalized the synapse to neurite ratio remains greater for the 120 DIV cultures (0.424 versus 0.364), demonstrating a higher synaptic density.