Dissociated Hippocampal Cultures

A popular approach to study living neurons involves the preparation of dissociated cultures. If isolated from neonatal or embryonic animals, neurons survive their removal and subsequent dissociation procedures. They grow processes on appropriate substrates, acquire mature neuronal morphology and polarity, and form functional synapses that resemble those of neurons developing in vivo. On the other hand, dissociated neurons produce neural circuits which differ from native circuits.