Examples and Research Situations

Several examples of situations or of research projects are described below, which indicate how the microscope software Morgentau M1 and its modules can be used.

Example 1: Neurophysiology

A scientist working in neurophysiology uses the Professional Edition of Morgentau M1 to map synaptic structures in brain material.

Making use of the Scanning Module of the microscope software Morgentau M1, he can easily plan, execute, document and reproduce experiments that would otherwise be impossible to perform due to time constraints.

Example 2: Laser photostimulation

Laser photostimulation is a technique for understanding the functional organization of complex neuronal circuits in the brain. The necessary external equipment like a laser can be triggered by the Scanning Module of the microscope software Morgentau M1 which is included in the Professional Edition.

The technique of photostimulation is based on the locally-focused photolysis and short-time activation of a caged transmitter, e.g., glutamate. By measuring the postsynaptic potentials of a single target neuron in response to consecutive super-threshold stimulation of neurons in a brain slice, detailed maps of the location, strength, polarity, and number of inputs converging to the target cell can be constructed.

Here, the microscope software Morgentau M1 can be applied for the direct stimulation of single cells to reconstruct the circuits in the hippocampal formation.

This example is based on the following article which employed the microscope software Morgentau M1:

• Bendels, M.H.K., Beed, P., Leibold, C., Schmitz, D. and Johenning, F.W. (2008): A Novel Control Software that Improves the Experimental Workflow of Scanning Photostimulation Experiments. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 175(1), pp. 44-57 (Link).

Example 3: Materials research

An employee in the field of materials research uses the microscope software Morgentau M1 to create an overview map of a piece of alloy. He uses the Navigation Module which is included in the the Standard Edition of Morgentau M1.

He carefully studies the surface properties and its irregularities using the convenient navigation tools. He then exposes the material to a number of stress tests.

After each test, he can easily navigate to the spots he examined earlier, compare their states before and after, and measure the size of emerging fissures.

Example 4: Research assistance

Research assistents can also use the Standard Edition of Morgentau M1 to support the senior staff. Due to the ease of use of the microscope software Morgentau M1, they can conduct experiments with a minimum of training.

Large amounts of valuable time can be saved when using the navigation, the orientation or the automation features of the Navigation Module. For example, these features include the usage of navigation points, the overview image, the autofocus of the z-axis, and the adaptation to changing magnifications of the microscope optics. Moreover, due to the documentation capabilities, the possibility of transcription errors is eliminated which makes the results of the experiments highly reliable.

More publications and more research projects

In the references section, you can find more publications and research projects that explain or employ the microscope software Morgentau M1. Moreover, see which leading research institutes rely on our scientific software.