Optical scatter imaging of hippocampal brain slices

The mechanism of the brain's response to injury resulting from stroke or edema is studied by optical imaging of in vitro brain slice preparations. Optical transmission as well as scatter imaging are employed to discriminate regional morphological changes in hippocampal slices. A novel imaging system based on Mie scatter theory is described. The results show that dual angle light scattering distinguishes between the cellular swelling response due to hypotonic (edema model) or N-methyl-D-apartate (stroke model) injury.