Web Release Date: November 23,
All Optical Interface for Parallel, Remote, and Spatiotemporal Control of Neuronal Activity
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NSF Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center (NSEC), 3112 Etcheverry Hall, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720-1740, Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Biophysics Graduate Program, Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, and Material Science Division and Physical Bioscience Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California 94720
Received October 26, 2007
Abstract:
A key technical barrier to furthering our understanding of complex neural networks has been the lack of tools for the simultaneous spatiotemporal control and detection of activity in a large number of neurons. Here, we report an all-optical system for achieving this kind of parallel and selective control and detection. We do this by delivering spatiotemporally complex optical stimuli through a digital micromirror spatiotemporal light modulator to cells expressing the light-activated ionotropic glutamate receptor (LiGluR), which have been labeled with a calcium dye to provide a fluorescent report of activity. Reliable and accurate spatiotemporal stimulation was obtained on HEK293 cells and cultured rat hippocampal neurons. This technique should be adaptable to in vivo applications and could serve as an optical interface for communicating with complex neural circuits.
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