Morphology of Hippocampal Neurons

“Form follows function” states the credo of modern architecture, defining how the shape of an object should be determined by its function. While natural objects, such as neurons, have not taken their shapes on design boards, the inquisitive observer can nevertheless gain insights about their function by studying morphological features. This teleological mindset was the main driving force behind the early neuroanatomical investigations, culminating in the work of Cajal, which formed the foundation of modern neuroscience. Neuroanatomical analysis remains an essential part of neuroscience research today and computational neuroscientists, in particular, benefit from the flow of new morphological data with increasing detail and resolution.