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Selecting An Optogenetic Light Source: LED vs. Laser
When selecting an optogenetic light source, you need to consider two key factors: the required light wavelength and intensity. First, the opsin you select has a specific activation spectrum, such that an opsin will only be activated by certain wavelengths of light. An opsin usually has a...
How Can Patterned Illumination be Used in Optogenetics Experiments? (Part 3)
Selective Optogenetic Stimulation with MEA to Detect Spread - Papasavvas et al. 2020 eNeuro
Interneurons are directly connected by gap junctions to other interneurons, and this provides a highly specific excitatory link. It is relatively unknown how gap-junction mediated propagation may be linked to increased activity. Papasavvas et...
How Can Patterned Illumination be Used in Optogenetics Experiments? (Part 2)
Targeted Illumination in Zebrafish - Tabor et al. 2018 Current Biology
Tabor et al. 2018 examined the cellular-basis of sensory filtering in zebrafish using prepulse inhibition (PPI). PPI is performed by pre-exposing an animal to a mild stimulus, and following this they are presented with an alarming stimulus....
What Systems are Available for Cellular-Resolution Optogenetics?
The ability to illuminate select neurons within a population of optogenetic-expressing neurons is called cellular-resolution optogenetics (Shemesh et al. 2017). To use this technique, researchers require more sophisticated spatial specificity to selectively stimulate individual neurons within an optogenetic-expressing population. The development of...
How Can Patterned Illumination be Used in Optogenetics Experiments? (Part 1)
Patterned illumination technologies enable researchers to selectively illuminate parts of their sample for optogenetic stimulation. One application of this is cellular-resolution optogenetics: the ability to selectively illuminate individual neurons within an optogenetic-expressing population (to further understand the difference between widefield and cellular-resolution optogenetics, see this blog...
Widefield Vs. Cellular-Resolution Optogenetics: What’s the Difference?
Optogenetics is a technique to manipulate genetically-defined neural activity with light, and it has two main advantages:
- Millisecond Temporal Precision
- Genetically-Defined Spatial Precision
What Equipment Do You Need to Perform Optogenetics?
Optogenetics unlocks the ability to activate or inhibit select populations of neurons. With this technique, researchers have been able to investigate the causal relationship between neural activity, function, and behaviour. The popularity of optogenetics is evident from the surge in publications featuring the technique since its invention in...
For years, neuroscientists have been fixated on understanding how behavior and cognition arise from neural circuit activity. To begin investigating these questions, scientists have been employing slow pharmacological and imprecise electrical stimulation techniques to control neural activity. However, with different classes of neurons communicating through vast, complex...
Can Optogenetics be Integrated with In Vivo Calcium Imaging?
The invention of optogenetics has enabled scientists to use light to turn cell-type specific neural activity on or off with millisecond-precision to probe neural circuit function. Complementing optogenetics, calcium imaging has provided scientists with a method to observe cell-type specific neural circuit activity with cellular-resolution using fluorescent...
What Systems are Available for In Vivo Calcium Imaging?
A long-standing objective in neuroscience has been elucidating how in vivo neural activity relates to sensory processing, behaviour, cognition, and cortical processing. Researchers have attempted to understand this relationship by developing a wide range of all-optical tools for calcium imaging in freely-moving animals. The requirements for in...
What Do You Need to Perform In Vivo Calcium Imaging?
If someone were to describe in vivo calcium imaging to you, it might sound quite simple. When you dig deeper, you start to appreciate the complexity associated with the biology and equipment required to perform calcium imaging in freely-behaving animals. You’re probably asking, what is...
What is In Vivo Calcium Imaging?
The brain contains over a billion neurons, each with complex networks of connections. Patterns of neural activity are believed to generate specific aspects of behaviour and cognition, but how can this be addressed? Current techniques, such as in vivo electrophysiology, can record neural activity with spike-timed precision,...
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