Quanty-cFOS

Quanty-cFOS quantifies Fos protein and c-fos mRNA-expressing cells within the ImageJ/Fiji platform from 2D fluorescent images and Maximum Intensity Projections (MIP) of fixed brain slices to enable unbiased analysis of neural activity and spatial mapping to brain areas.

Key Features:

• Automated/Semi-Automated Counting: Automated and semi-automated counting of Fos-positive cells in 2D fluorescent images and Maximum Intensity Projections (MIP) from fixed brain slices.
• Intensity Cutoff Computation: Computes an intensity cutoff for positive cells from a user-specified number of images and applies this threshold consistently across the dataset.
• Spatial Mapping and Validation: Registers cell counts to brain areas for spatial mapping, with validation demonstrated on brain sections responding to somatosensory stimuli.
• Extensibility for Other Cell Markers: Methodology is adaptable to counting other labeled cell types beyond Fos protein and c-fos mRNA.
• ImageJ/Fiji Integration: Implemented within the ImageJ/Fiji platform for processing 2D fluorescent images and MIPs.

Scientific Applications:

• Immediate Early Gene Studies: Quantifies c-fos/Fos expression to investigate neural encoding and plasticity.
• Stimulus-Response Mapping: Maps Fos-positive cells to brain regions to analyze responses to somatosensory stimuli.
• Reproducible Quantification: Provides consistent thresholding and counts across large image datasets to support reproducible analyses.

Methodology:

Automated and semi-automated detection of Fos-positive cells in 2D fluorescent images or MIPs; computation of an intensity cutoff from a user-specified number of images with application of that threshold across the dataset; registration of counts to brain areas for spatial mapping.