One of the most important goals in neuroscience is to understand the molecular cues that
instruct early stages of synapse formation. As such it has become imperative to develop
objective approaches to quantify changes in synaptic connectivity. Starting from sample
fixation, this protocol details how to quantify synapse number both in dissociated neuronal
culture and in brain sections using immunocytochemistry. Using compartment-specific
antibodies, we label presynaptic terminals as well as sites of postsynaptic specialization. We …