Identification of sound-activated neurons in the inferior colliculus by cFos immunostaining

Maio, B, Elu, N, Martinez-Gonzalez, C, Nolan, MF, *Osterweil, EK and *Louros, SR.

cfos is an immediate early gene that reflects neuronal activity. Upon sound stimulation, neurons in the inferior colliculus are activated and cFOS is expressed in the nucleus. Here we describe an optimized immunofluorescence protocol to identify sound induced cFOS expression in the inferior colliculus. This protocol describes sound stimulation, tissue preparation, immunofluorescence conditions as well as different quantification approaches.