# Precision Histology

> **NIH NIH U19** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $454,431

## Abstract

PIs: Martin Deschênes, Yoav Freund, David Golomb, David Kleinfeld (lead), Fan Wang
!
 Core 2. Abstract
 Precision Histology
 This Core provides high-throughput tape transfer sectioning to cut near perfect stacks of slices of the whole
brain, from olfactory bulb to spinal level C2. The tape transfer histology system has been in continuous
operation in the Mitra laboratory for several years and will enable the registration of anatomical data from
Research Projects 1, 2, and 3, into a common framework established by the Trainable Texture-based Digital
Atlas.
 Control of orofacial actions is coordinated by distinct populations of brain stem premotor neurons that are
arranged into relatively small clusters and limited to domains as small as 200 to 300 µm in extent. For many
orofacial motor actions, premotor neuronal clusters are present at multiple levels of the brainstem and do not
conform to the boundaries previously defined by available atlases, including the Paxinos atlases and the Allen
Brain Common Coordinate Framework atlas.
 As part of our concerted effort to identify the functional organization of brainstem motor control, we require
standardized processing of brain tissue. The established histology pipeline in the Mitra laboratory offers key
advantages over alternative methods, in that tissue is retained in near perfect alignment during sectioning and
is amenable to standard histological stains that demarcate brainstem landmarks used to align and annotate
brains. Crucially, this approach precludes distortions from classical sectioning methods and enables efficient
3D reconstructions, cross-brain registration, and efficient incorporation of data from new brains into our
recently developed Trainable Texture-based Digital Atlas. By efficiently multiplexing labeled neurons from
transsynaptic tracing, in vivo recordings, and transgenic mice/cell type marker stains, the Precision Histology
Core serves to support data compilation into a common anatomical framework.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9930688
- **Project number:** 5U19NS107466-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** PARTHA Pratim MITRA
- **Activity code:** U19 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $454,431
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9930688

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9930688, Precision Histology (5U19NS107466-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9930688. Licensed CC0.

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