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Simultaneous Two-photon In Vivo Imaging of Synaptic Inputs and Postsynaptic Targets in the Mouse Retrosplenial Cortex
Published on: March 13, 2016
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Simultaneous two-photon imaging of action potentials and subthreshold inputs in vivo
Yuki Bando1,2, Michael Wenzel3,4, Rafael Yuste3
1NeuroTechnology Center, Department of Biological Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10027, USA. bando@hama-med.ac.jp.
Nature Communications
|December 11, 2021
Summary
Researchers developed ArcLight-ST, a new tool to measure neuronal electrical activity. This allows detailed mapping of brain circuit dynamics, including during epileptic seizures, in living animals.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Biophysics
Background:
- Understanding neuronal population computations is crucial for neuroscience.
- Measuring subthreshold membrane potentials in vivo has been challenging.
- Existing methods often lack the resolution to distinguish subthreshold activity from spikes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel genetically-encoded voltage indicator for measuring subthreshold membrane potentials.
- To enable simultaneous imaging of voltage and calcium dynamics in neuronal populations.
- To demonstrate the utility of this method in mapping complex neural circuit activity.
Main Methods:
- Development of ArcLight-ST, a genetically-encoded voltage indicator.
- Combination of two-photon imaging of voltage and calcium signals.
- In vivo cellular-resolution imaging in living animals.
Main Results:
- Successfully discriminated subthreshold inputs and spikes with cellular resolution.
- Mapped the progression of epileptic seizures through cortical circuits.
- Revealed divergent sub- and suprathreshold dynamics in epileptic micronetworks.
Conclusions:
- ArcLight-ST provides a powerful tool for studying neuronal population dynamics.
- Simultaneous voltage and calcium imaging offers new insights into brain circuit function.
- The method is effective for mapping pathological network activity like epilepsy.
