Table 2.
Morphological properties used for unbiased classification of YFP-positive neurons.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Number of nodes | The total number of nodes in the given digital reconstruction. A node in a reconstruction represents a single sample point of the neuron defined by its X, Y and Z coordinates, a radius, and its connectivity to other nodes in the neuron. |
| Soma surface area (μm2) | The surface of the spherical node representing the soma in the digital reconstruction. |
| Number of stems | The number of nodes attached to the soma. |
| Number of bifurcations | The number of points which have two daughter nodes for the given reconstruction. |
| Number of branches | The number of compartments that lie between two branching points or between one branching point and a termination point in the given reconstruction. |
| Number of tips | The number of terminal tips for the given input neuron. |
| Neuronal height (μm) | Height is the difference of minimum and maximum y-values after eliminating the outer points on either end by using the 95% approximation of the y-values of the given reconstruction. |
| Neuronal width (μm) | Width is the difference of minimum and maximum x-values after eliminating the outer points on either end by using the 95% approximation of the x-values of the given reconstruction. |
| Neuronal depth (μm) | Depth is the difference of minimum and maximum z-values after eliminating the outer points on either end by using the 95% approximation of the z-values of the given reconstruction. |
| Average diameter (thickness; μm) | The average diameter of all compartments of the neuron. |
| Total length (μm) | The total length of the neuron is computed as the sum of distances between two connected nodes for all branches. |
| Total volume (μm3) | The total volume of the entire neuron. |
| Maximum Euclidean distance to root (μm) | The maximum Euclidean distance of all nodes. Euclidean distance is the straight line distance from the soma to the node. |
| Maximum path distance to root (μm) | The maximum path distance of all nodes. The path distance is the sum of lengths of all connected nodes from the soma, ending with that node. |
| Maximum branch order | The maximum order of the branch. A branch’s order is defined with respect to the soma where the soma has a branch order = 0 and ever bifurcation has an increasing branch order. |
| Average contraction | The average ratio between Euclidean distance of a branch and its path length. |
| Average fragmentation | The average number of compartments that constitute a branch between two bifurcation points or between a bifurcation point and a terminal tip. |
| Average parent-daughter ratio | The average ratio between the diameter of a daughter branch and its parent branch |
| Average local amplitude angle (degrees) | The average angle between the first two compartments at a bifurcation |
| Average remote amplitude Angle (degrees) | The average angle between two bifurcation points or between bifurcation point and terminal point or between two terminal points. |
| Intersection at 30 μm | The number of Sholl plot intersections at a distance of 30 μm from the soma. |
| Intersection at 50 μm | The number of Sholl plot intersections at a distance of 50 μm from the soma. |
| Spine density (μm−1) | Total number of spines in all branches of a given neuron |