A major hurdle in understanding the various dynamic processes that occur during neuronal remodeling is that they take place within the pupa, in which live-imaging is currently impossible (mainly due to opaque fat bodies that surround the brain). Therefore, we have developed an ex vivo long-term brain culturing system, which supports ongoing development of pupal brains, at similar kinetics to that which occurs in vivo. Using this new strategy, we have obtained the first time-lapse sequence of mushroom body remodeling in up to single cell resolution. Moreover, our culturing system enables pharmacological manipulations that provide important insights about the molecular basis of remodeling.
