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Dissociated hippocampal neurons exposed to a variety of degenerative stimuli form neuritic cofilin-actin rods. Here we report on stimulus driven regional rod formation in organotypic hippocampal slices. Ultrastructural analysis of rods formed in slices demonstrates mitochondria and vesicles become entrapped within some rods. We developed a template for combining and mapping data from multiple slices, enabling statistical analysis for the identification of vulnerable sub-regions. Amyloid-beta (Abeta) induces rods predominantly in the dentate gyrus region, and Abeta-induced rods are reversible following washout. Rods that persist 24 h following transient (30 min) ATP-depletion are broadly distributed, whereas rods formed in response to excitotoxic glutamate localize within and nearby the pyramidal neurons. Time-lapse imaging of cofilin-GFP-expressing neurons within slices shows neuronal rod formation begins rapidly and peaks by 10 min of anoxia. In approximately 50% of responding neurons, Abeta-induced rod formation acts via cdc42, an upstream regulator of cofilin. These new observations support a role for cofilin-actin rods in stress-induced disruption of cargo transport and synaptic function within hippocampal neurons and suggest both cdc42-dependent and independent pathways modulate cofilin activity downstream from Abeta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]