Video Tutorial II: GAIN: A graphical method to automatically analyze individual neurite outgrowth

In these tutorials, we introduce GAIN, a graphical method to automatically analyze neurite outgrowth from microscopy images. Given an input of paired neuronal nuclear and cytoskeletal microscopy images, the GAIN algorithm calculates neurite length statistics linked to individual cells or clusters of cells. As output, GAIN produces a table of neurite lengths from cell body to neurite tip per cell cluster in an image along with a count of cells per cluster. GAIN’s performance compares favorably with the popular ImageJ plugin NeuriteTracer for counting neurons, and provides the added benefit of assigning neurites to their respective cell bodies. In summary, GAIN provides a new tool to improve the robust assessment of neural cells by image-based analysis.