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Updated: Apr 7, 2026
Laser-scanning Photostimulation of Optogenetically Targeted Forebrain Circuits
Published on: December 27, 2013
All-optical mapping of barrel cortex circuits based on simultaneous voltage-sensitive dye imaging and
Shun Qiang Lo1, Dawn X P Koh2, Judy C G Sng3
1National University of Singapore , Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Department of Physiology, Singapore 117597, Singapore ; Nanyang Technological University , Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Proteos, Biopolis, Level 4, 61 Biopolis Drive, #04-06/07, Singapore 138673, Singapore ; Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology , ASTAR, Proteos, 61 Biopolis Drive, Proteos, Singapore 138673, Singapore ; Marine Biological Laboratory , 7 MBL Street, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, United States.
Abstract:
We describe an experimental approach that uses light to both control and detect neuronal activity in mouse barrel cortex slices: blue light patterned by a digital micromirror array system allowed us to photostimulate specific layers and columns, while a red-shifted voltage-sensitive dye was used to map out large-scale circuit activity. We demonstrate that such all-optical mapping can interrogate various circuits in somatosensory cortex by sequentially activating different layers and columns. Further, mapping in slices from whisker-deprived mice demonstrated that chronic sensory deprivation did not significantly alter feedforward inhibition driven by layer 5 pyramidal neurons. Further development of voltage-sensitive optical probes should allow this all-optical mapping approach to become an important and high-throughput tool for mapping circuit interactions in the brain.
