The tissue of the central nervous system is made up of two classes of cells that may be broadly categorized as neurons and glia. Neurons are anatomic, functional, and trophic units of the brain. Neurons are dynamically polarized cells responsible for electrochemically transmitting information throughout the nervous system. Despite great variability in size and shape, all neurons share common morphological features, the key elements of a highly complex communication network. In rat, the adult brain has been shown to contain 200 million neurons. The outermost layers of the brain are the cerebral cortex, home to numerous critical functions including perception, language, decision making, and memory. Primary rat neurons-cortical (RNc) are a useful in vitro model for studying conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia and traumatic brain injury. RN-c from ScienCell Research Laboratories are isolated from embryonic day 18 CD® IGS rat cerebrum. RN-c are cryopreserved at P0 and delivered frozen. Each vial contains >1 x 106 cells in 1 ml volume. RN-c are characterized by immunofluorescence with antibodies specific to β-tubulin III. RN-c are negative for mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast, and fungi. RN-c are guaranteed to further culture under the conditions provided by ScienCell Research Laboratories; however, RN-c are not recommended for expanding or long-term cultures since the cells do not proliferate in culture. Recommended Medium It is recommended to use neuronal medium (NM, Cat. #1521) for culturing RN-c in vitro.