Deciphering how the brain processes sensory information and makes behavioral decisions ultimately requires methods to record simultaneously from all the neurons in a local circuit. Of techniques used to measure neuronal activity, optical microscopy stands out as one of the few tools with the spatial resolution needed for dense ensemble recordings in thick tissue. Recently, significant progress has been made in developing probes and instrumentation for measuring neuronal activity using fluorescence. For studies of neural circuits, however, this strategy is fundamentally limited by the phototoxicity of the fluorophore: long-term, high-speed imaging needed to study circuits delivers a light dose that damages (and ultimately destroys) fluorescently-labeled cells. To overcome this problem, I propose to develop new approaches to measure spiking activity without fluorescence. The methods we will develop will perform at speeds sufficient to image large three-dimensional volumes of intact tissue thousands of times per second, sensitive enough to record each action potential, and sufficiently non-damaging to record from the same set of neurons for periods of hours. This technical advance will provide an unprecedented look at how neuronal activity generates the central computational functions of the brain.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Type
NIH Director’s Pioneer Award (NDPA) (DP1)
Project #
5DP1DA035081-05
Application #
8518286
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZGM1-NDPA-B (02))
Program Officer
Pilotte, Nancy S
Project Start
2009-09-30
Project End
2014-07-31
Budget Start
2013-08-01
Budget End
2014-07-31
Support Year
5
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$729,828
Indirect Cost
$249,678
Name
Washington University
Department
Neurosciences
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
068552207
City
Saint Louis
State
MO
Country
United States
Zip Code
63130
Liang, Xitong; Holy, Timothy E; Taghert, Paul H (2017) A Series of Suppressive Signals within the Drosophila Circadian Neural Circuit Generates Sequential Daily Outputs. Neuron 94:1173-1189.e4
Liang, Xitong; Holy, Timothy E; Taghert, Paul H (2016) Synchronous Drosophila circadian pacemakers display nonsynchronous Ca²? rhythms in vivo. Science 351:976-81
Turaga, Diwakar; Holy, Timothy E (2012) Organization of vomeronasal sensory coding revealed by fast volumetric calcium imaging. J Neurosci 32:1612-21