Scanning Electron Microscopy of Cerebellar Cortex

1. Sample Preparation Methods for Scanning Electron Microscopy.- Conventional SEM technique or slicing technique.- Fixation procedures.- The prefixation state of the nerve tissue.- Vascular perfusion fixation technique.- Criteria for good fixation and optimal preservation of nerve tissue.- Trimming procedure and obtaining nerve tissue slices.- Dehydration.- Critical point drying method.- Specimen mounting and orientation.- Metal deposition.- Nerve cell specimens coated with thick gold-palladium films.- Special SEM preparation techniques.- Concluding remarks.- 2. The Cerebellar White Matter.- Brief history.- The afferent and efferent fibers.- Concluding remarks.- 3. Granule Cells.- Short history.- The three-layered structure of cerebellar cortex.- Outer surface of intact granule cells.- Inner organization of fractured granule cells.- Granule cell processes.- Concluding remarks.- 4. The Mossy Fiber Glomerulus.- The long history.- The mossy fiber-granule cell synaptic relationship.- Concluding remarks.- 5. Golgi Cells.- Short history.- Scanning electron microscopy of unfractured Golgi cells.- Scanning electron microscopy of fractured Golgi cells.- Concluding remarks.- 6. Unipolar Brush Cells.- Recent history and three-dimensional morphology.- Future research.- 7. Lugaro Cells.- Short history.- Three-dimensional morphology.- Future research.- 8. Purkinje Cells.- The long history.- Three-dimensional morphology and outer surface.- Synaptic relationship with parallel fibers.- Concluding remarks.- 9. Climbing Fibers.- Brief history.- Intracortical course.- Concluding remarks.- 10. The Basket Cells.- Brief history.- Three-dimensional morphology.- Concluding remarks.- 11. Stellate Cells.- Brief history.- Three-dimensional morphology.- Concluding remarks.- 12. Cerebellar Glial Cells.- Brief history.- Oligodendrocytes.- The velate protoplasmic astrocytes.- Bergmann glial cells.- Concluding remarks.- 13. Cerebellar Capillaries.- Short history.- Three-dimensional morphology of cerebellar capillaries.- Contribution of SEM to the cerebellar blood-brain barrier structure and function.- Concluding remarks.- 14. Contribution of Scanning Electron Microscopy to Cerebellar Neurobiology.- The characterization of afferent and efferent fibers in the cerebellar white matter.- Three-dimensional visualization of unfractured and fractured neurons.- SEM as a high resolution tool for tracing cerebellar intracortical circuits.- The three-dimensional morphology of synaptic connections.- The three-dimensional morphology of glial cells.- Contribution to the information processing in the cerebellar cortex.- The three-dimensional design of cerebellar cortex.- References.