Breakthroughs in Photonics 2012: Nonlinear Laser Imaging for Neuroscience

Year: 2013

Authors: Allegra Mascaro A. L., Silvestri L., Sacconi L., Pavone F.S.

Autors Affiliation: European Laboratory for Non-linear Spectroscopy, University of Florence, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (FI), Italy

Abstract: Many advantages make optical methods more and more interesting for neuroscientists. Thanks to the development of new voltage-sensitive dyes and of optogenetic probes, photon-based exploration of neuronal electrical activity is rapidly overcoming most of the electron-based techniques for electrophysiological investigations. These innovative labeling strategies have been recently combined with nonlinear imaging techniques, giving new trigger to the investigation of neuronal circuitry. Advances in nonlinear optical imaging of neuron voltage now provide not only a readout of the electrical activity of each neuron through wide microcircuits but also a map of the functionality of dendritic trees and synaptic compartments. Furthermore, improved optogenetic tools can now be easily combined with two-photon excitation, allowing light stimulation of single cells in vivo. This review will describe the main advantages of combining nonlinear laser imaging with specific reporters that allow reconstructing the neuronal circuitry by specifically interrogating or recording from single neurons. We will focus on two outstanding studies of 2012 that took advantage of two-photon microscopy to increase the spatial resolution, opening promising prospective in neuronal activity investigation.

Journal/Review: IEEE PHOTONICS JOURNAL

Volume: 5 (2)      Pages from: 0701006  to: 0701006

More Information: This work was supported in part by LASERLAB-EUROPE under Grant Agreements 228334 and 284464, EC\’s Seventh Framework Programme; by the Human Frontier Science Program under Research Grant RGP0027/2009; by the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research in the framework of the Flagship Project NANOMAX; and by the Italian Ministry of Health in the framework of the \”Stem Cells Call for proposals.\” This work has been carried out in the framework of the research activities of ICON Foundation supported by \”Ente Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze.
KeyWords: fluorescence microscopy; nonlinear microscopy; optogenetic; neural activity; 2nd-harmonic generation microscopy
DOI: 10.1109/JPHOT.2013.2250941

Citations: 2
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