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Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Thinned-skull Cortical Window Technique for In Vivo Optical Coherence Tomography Imaging
Published on: November 19, 2012
Skull optical clearing window for in vivo imaging of the mouse cortex at synaptic resolution
Yan-Jie Zhao1,2, Ting-Ting Yu1,2, Chao Zhang1,2
1Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics-Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
Abstract:
Imaging cells and microvasculature in the living brain is crucial to understanding an array of neurobiological phenomena. Here, we introduce a skull optical clearing window for imaging cortical structures at synaptic resolution. Combined with two-photon microscopy, this technique allowed us to repeatedly image neurons, microglia and microvasculature of mice. We applied it to study the plasticity of dendritic spines in critical periods and to visualize dendrites and microglia after laser ablation. Given its easy handling and safety, this method holds great promise for application in neuroscience research.
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