We request funds for the purchase of a shared Multiphoton Imaging and Electrophysiology Workstation. This workstation will consist of a dedicated multiphoton fixed stage upright microscope (Olympus Fluoview 1000 MPE) equipped with optics appropriate for imaging living brain slices or retinal explants, as well as electronics micromanipulators and other support items (electrode puller, vibratome, perfusion chamber, etc.) necessary for experiments combining multiphoton imaging with patch-clamp electrophysiology. The user group is made up of cellular and molecular neuroscientists of both the College of Arts and Sciences and the Medical Center of Vanderbilt University who study a broad range of problems in neuroscience using advanced imaging and electrophysiological techniques, and all have a critical experimental needs for multiphoton imaging of neural tissue in terms of the increased depth of penetration, the spatially restricted imaging and stimulation, the decrease in phototoxicity and the absence of visible light stimulation afforded by deep IR multiphoton imaging. The Olympus Fluoview 1000 MPE system requested has been uniquely configured based on the needs of the user group with significant attention to the highest performing immersion objective lenses for the specific needs of electrophysiology experiments as well as a dual transmitted light path for delivering light and pattern stimuli to living retinal preparations. The instrument will be located in and maintained by the Vanderbilt Cell Imaging Shared Resource (CISR) on the 7th floor of the Biological Sciences Building/Medical Research Building III (BSB/MRBIII). This building houses many of the users, including those from CAS, and is conveniently accessible to all users. The expertise and institutional support for this MPE microscope are exceptional. Drs. Piston and Wells, Scientific Director and Managing Director of the CISR, respectively, are world-renowned experts in multiphoton imaging. The CISR has an 18-year history of assisting over 275 investigators with cutting-edge imaging expertise. Vanderbilt University College of Arts and Sciences and Medical Center have committed $300,000 in funds to enhance the purchase and operation of the instrument.
