A microcomputer based image processing system is being used primarily to conduct experiments utilizing autoradiographic receptor binding techniques and will be used to perform densitometric analyses of film images of the autoradiograms. The instrument is being used as a research tool for student and faculty research, and as an instrument that supports various teaching laboratory exercises that focus on receptor systems in the brain. The system enables the department to expand the research opportunities available to neuroscience students, carry out receptor binding studies focusing on discrete regions in the brain, and conduct receptor binding experiments in student laboratories at lower cost. The system will be expanded at a later date to perform image analysis tasks other than densitometry. The college is contributing an amount equal to the award.
