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Updated: May 27, 2026

In Vivo Visualization of Spontaneous Activity in Neonatal Mouse Sensory Cortex at a Single-Neuron Resolution
Published on: November 21, 2023
Visualization and manipulation of neural activity in the developing vertebrate nervous system
Jiayi Zhang1, James B Ackman, Onkar S Dhande
1Department of Neurobiology, Yale University New Haven, CT, USA.
Abstract:
Neural activity during vertebrate development has been unambiguously shown to play a critical role in sculpting circuit formation and function. Patterned neural activity in various parts of the developing nervous system is thought to modulate neurite outgrowth, axon targeting, and synapse refinement. The nature and role of patterned neural activity during development has been classically studied with in vitro preparations using pharmacological manipulations. In this review we discuss newly available and developing molecular-genetic tools for the visualization and manipulation of neural activity patterns specifically during development.

