Purkinje neurons in culture

This scanning electron micrograph, shows differentiating neurons grown in culture. These cells were derived from a human purkinje cell line. Purkinje cells are some of the largest neurons in the human brain. In humans, they can be affected in a variety of diseases ranging from toxic exposure (alcohol, lithium), to autoimmune diseases and to genetic mutations (spinocerebellar ataxias, autism) and neurodegenerative diseases that are not thought to have a known genetic basis (cerebellar type of multiple system atrophy, sporadic ataxias).