Event Information
Functional neuronal imaging using nonlinear optical contrast
- Abstract:
To visualize the information processing carried out by the central nervous system and understand how simple processes in neurons like firing spikes and their transmittance between neurons generate complicated cognitive functions of the brain we need a noninvasive technique that can map the rapid and complex dynamics of the neurons in the network with high spatiotemporal resolution. We have demonstrated strong intrinsic nonlinear optical signatures of glutamate-induced neuronal activation in rat hippocampal brain slices using novel nonlinear detection technique with modest powers levels and single-neuron spatial resolution. We expect to correlate these signatures with established measurement techniques by performing simultaneous acquisition of nonlinear signal and electrophysiological recording synchronously on a sub-millisecond timescale. With our encouraging preliminary data we plan to perform a series of simultaneous optical and electrical measurements of neural activation to determine the origin of this nonlinear contrast and create an entirely new method for noninvasive functional neuronal imaging, with potential advantages in speed, penetration depth, subcellular resolution and contrast.
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