A compiled BASIC program for analysis of spatial point patterns: application to retinal studies.

ABSTRACT

The pattern of distribution of a population of cells is of considerable interest to biologists and neurobiologists. However, the labor involved in collecting and analyzing the data often requires a significant amount of time. This paper presents a compiled BASIC program written using the Microsoft QuickBasic compiler for Apple Macintosh to facilitate such studies. The program allows collection and analysis of data that can be introduced either with the aid of a digitizing tablet of directly imported as x,y coordinates from different sources as, for example, word processors or image analysis software. Subsequently the program provides a quick, easy and interactive way of access to statistical, mathematical and graphical techniques used in the analysis of spatial point patterns. These techniques include several measures of dispersion (quadrat count, nearest neighbor and a 2-dimensional point autocorrelogram analysis) and arrangement. Although the program has been tested on spatial organization of retinal cells, it can be used to study the distribution of other cells in the nervous system and for different projects, as for example the distribution of microtubules and neurofilaments inside the axons. This software is available from the authors.