Researchers develop new technology to capture images of the brain

In a partnership melding neuroscience and electrical engineering, researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State University have developed a new technology that will allow neuroscientists to capture images of the brain almost 10 times larger than previously possible - helping them better understand the behavior of neurons in the brain.

Nervous systems are complex. After all, everything that any animal thinks or does is controlled by its nervous system. To better understand how complex nervous systems work, researchers have used an expanding array of ever more sophisticated tools that allow them to actually see what's going on. In some cases, neuroscience researchers have had to create entirely new tools to advance their work.

This is how an electrical engineering researcher ended up co-authoring a Nature Biotechnology paper with a group of neuroscientists.

A UNC-Chapel Hill research team made up of Jeff Stirman, Ikuko Smith and Spencer Smith wanted to be able to look at "ensemble" neuronal activity related to how mice process visual input. In other words, they wanted to look at activity in neurons across multiple areas at the same time.

To do that, the researchers used a two-photon microscope, which images fluorescence. In this case, it could be used to see which neurons "light up" when active.

The problem was that conventional two-photon microscopy systems could only look at approximately one square millimeter of brain tissue at a time. That made it hard to simultaneously capture neuron activity in different areas.

This is where Michael Kudenov comes in. An assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NC State, Kudenov's area of expertise is remote imaging. His work focuses on developing new instruments and sensors to improve the performance of technologies used in everything from biomedical imaging to agricultural research.

After being contacted by the UNC researchers, Kudenov designed a series of new lenses for the microscope. Stirman further refined the designs and incorporated them into an overall two-photon imaging system that allowed the researchers to scan much larger areas of the brain. Instead of capturing images covering one square millimeter of the brain, they could capture images covering more than 9.5 square millimeters.

This advance allows them to simultaneously scan widely separated populations of neurons.

As the group notes in its Nature Biotechnology paper, this work addresses "a major barrier to progress in two-photon imaging of neuronal activity: the limited field of view."

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.

You might also like...
Sleep deprivation in early life increases autism risk