Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 9, 2026
10:55
Live Imaging Followed by Single Cell Tracking to Monitor Cell Biology and the Lineage Progression of Multiple Neural Populations
Published on: December 16, 2017
9.1K
Longitudinal tracking of neuronal activity from the same cells in the developing brain using Track2p
Jure Majnik1, Manon Mantez1, Sofia Zangila1
1Aix-Marseille Université, Inserm, INMED, Turing Center for Living Systems, Marseille, France.
Elife
|December 10, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed a new method to track neuron activity in developing brains over time. This tool helps understand brain development and identify potential issues in neurodevelopmental disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Computational Biology
Background:
- Tracking neuronal activity over time is crucial for understanding brain development.
- Existing automated tools for long-term neuron tracking are limited, hindering longitudinal studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel automated method for tracking neuronal populations across multiple days in the developing brain.
- To enable robust long-term analysis of neuronal dynamics and representational stability during early brain development.
Main Methods:
- A novel cell tracking method based on sequential image registration was developed.
- The method was validated using in vivo calcium imaging data from mouse pups' barrel cortex over one postnatal week.
Main Results:
- The method enables robust long-term tracking of hundreds of individual neurons.
- A key developmental transition in neuronal activity statistics, including the emergence of arousal state modulation, was identified.
Conclusions:
- The developed method is an essential tool for tracking developmental trajectories of individual neurons.
- This approach can aid in identifying deviations associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and understanding cortical circuit development.
