Quantitative Morphology Core
                    --- P. R. Hof, Mt. Sinai

The Quantitative Morphology Core (QMC) provides expertise with quantitative neuroanatomic methods and image analysis, as well as help in study design to the Center's investigators. An important feature of the QMC is its capability to cross levels of morphological resolution, from macroscopic features to subcellular characteristics, to provide a comprehensive understanding of neurochemical morphology not only in the context of functional circuits but also in relation to the behavioral and electrophysiological paradigms employed by the Center's investigators. The QMC is equipped with two computer-assisted photomicroscopes, one confocal laser scanning microscope and has full access to an electron microscope facility. Quantitative morphology is performed principally using, NeuroZoom, a software application designed for full-scale mapping, cell reconstruction, image analysis and stereology. In view of the very high level of interaction in terms of quantitative anatomic analyses among the different members of the Center, a key role of the QMC is to generate a uniform approach to quantitative neuroanatomy, in order to ensure a high level of consistency in data analysis and interpretation. Specifically, the QMC will participate in collaborative studies of glucocorticoid and glutamate receptor localization in projection neurons in the hippocampus, medial prefrontal cortex and amygdala, quantitative assessment of glutamate receptor distribution during stress or fear conditioning, stereologic analysis of neuron numbers and structure volumes of select subfields in the hippocampus, and quantitative cellular reconstructions of physiologically characterized and dye-filled neurons to assess the degree of stress-induced dendritic atrophy in all three brain regions. In addition, the QMC will continue to develop new methods to optimize sampling on confocal images, to permit stereology on electrom microscopy materials, and will apply stereologic methods to estimate volumes on high resolution MRI scans. The QMC will also continue to design programs to help in optimizing the sampling scheme of dendritic fields on the CLSM. Such programs will make NeuroZoom interact with the CLSM imaging system efficiently and permit unbiased fluorescence intensity measurements, analyses or local spine counting by using systematic random sampling of dendritic domains within defined segments of the dendritic arborization. Such extensions of the capacities of the current software will be important to optimize certain aspects of filled and reconstructed neurons processed for immunohistochemistry. Finally, the QMC will investigate possibilities to use stereologic counting methods that can be applied to electron microscopy materials, in order to bridge efficiently the levels of confocal and EM resolution.