Miniaturized microscope with flexible light source input for neuronal imaging and manipulation in freely behaving...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Bioengineering
• Genetics

Background:

• Understanding neuronal function requires simultaneous observation and control of specific neural populations.
• Current tools often lack the flexibility or accessibility for in-vivo cellular-level studies in behaving animals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and validate a novel, miniaturized microscope (miniscope) for integrated fluorescence imaging and optogenetic manipulation.
• To enable cellular-level investigation of neuronal populations in freely behaving subjects.

Main Methods:

• Developed a compact miniscope with an integrated optical connector for versatile light source integration.
• Utilized open-source software for ease of construction and modification.
• Demonstrated simultaneous calcium imaging (jGCaAMP7c) and optogenetic silencing (Jaws) of hippocampal CA1 neurons.

Main Results:

• The miniscope successfully enabled simultaneous cellular-level fluorescence imaging and optogenetic manipulation in freely behaving animals.
• The device's flexible design allowed for the use of different sensors and optogenetic tools.
• Specific hippocampal neurons were optogenetically silenced while monitoring their activity.

Conclusions:

• This novel miniscope provides a powerful and accessible platform for studying causal relationships between neural circuit dynamics and behavior.
• The technology facilitates research into the functional roles of genetically defined neuronal populations.
• It advances the capability to link neural network activity to observable actions in real-time.