NeuroMorpho Tutorial

Browse NeuroMorpho in NIF
For more information, visit NeuroMorpho Homepage or the NeuroLex entry for NeuroMorpho

NeuroMorpho.Org is a centrally curated inventory of digitally reconstructed neurons.  NeuroMorpho.Org contains contributions from over two-dozen labs and is continuously updated as new morphological reconstructions are collected, published, and shared, with the goal of densely covering all available data.  Morphological data are essential for understanding the cellular complexity of the nervous system, and are used for analysis, visualization, and modeling.  Neuronal reconstructions can be downloaded from the site in Neuron and Genesis data formats.

Here is how we can get to digital reconstructions of neurons from NIF:

Search for a cell type:

Then select from the autocomplete options.

Here we find NeuroMorpho under both the Cellular Level and Images tabs. Both will produce the same results. Click on NeuroMorpho: NeuronInfo. 
If we click on the first neuron image in the list it takes us to the following page:

This is the datasheet, in NeuroMorpho, for this Mouse, Cerebral cortex neuron.  From here we can download the data, see more of the "metadata" including additional age and stain information, as well as viewing the neuronal reconstruction in the Animation viewer or the 3D Neuron Viewer.  To view the neuron click on the 3D Neuron Viewer and accept the certificate.  Then you should see the following pop up window (Note, this may take a few minutes depending on the file size and connection speed):

In this window we can use the right and left mouse buttons to zoom in and out of the image, as well as clicking on either skeletal or area projections.  Below, we have used the right mouse button to zoom into the cell and clicked on the area projection to reveal the cell body.

To play with the image:

• Move the neuron by left click and drag.
• Rotate the neuron by right click and drag.
• Zoom in by left click and zoom out by right click.
• Save the neuron in Neuron format or Genesis format by clicking on each related buttons.
• Display the neuron in skeletal view or area view by selecting appropriate radio button.

For more information, please visit NeuroMorpho.Org.