NONBINOMIAL DISTRIBUTION OF RELATIVE NEURITE OUTGROWTH IN PC-12 CELLS

Previously we reported the results of a series of experimental tests u sing PC-12 cells to examine the biological effects of prescribed combi nations of both nerve growth factor and magnetic fields. Because our a ssay of the PC-12 cells is based on a binary classification of the cel ls following treatment, our data might be expected to have a binomial distribution. However, our data consistently show a smaller variabilit y than that predicted by the binomial distribution model. In this pape r, we examine some possible reasons for this reduction in variability in our results. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.