Major questions in experimental Neuroscience, ranging from how neuronal computation works at the level of micro-circuitry to the effects of thousands of different genes on basic anatomy, are best studied optically. Yet, current optics devices can only reach ~5% of the intact mouse brain. The devices developed in this project will open up the remaining 95% of the intact mouse brain to optical microscopy through novel invasive micro-optics. The devices will be capable of penetrating the brain to gain access to deep brain regions, while evaluating and minimizing tissue damage to ensure the validity of experiments. The micro-optics will take the form of needle-like lenses that can access deep, sub-cortical brain structures and micro-prisms that can image entire cortical columns, the fundamental processing unit in cortex. These systems will also be combined to form micro-periscopes, for side-on viewing of deep structures. Taken together, these devices will fundamentally change the limits of experimental Neuroscience in living animals. In addition, they will also find application in a wide range of non-Neuroscience fields, including, for example, the monitoring of tumor growth and the investigation of the stem cell niche, or even in plant systems. The anticipated low-price of the micro-optics will facilitate rapid dissemination of this technology to the research community. The dissemination will be aided by classes on how to assemble and use micro-optics, offered as part of the free Yale Microscopy Workshop and Symposium. This symposium occurs every summer and is open to the broader research community outside of Yale. In addition, each summer, two or more high school students will be funded to join the Yale Engineering and Science Summer Internship (YESSI), run by the primary investigator. This program runs a competition amongst interested graduate students to mentor high school students, who also compete to enter the program. The graduate students receive valuable experience as mentors, while the high school students get exposed to cutting edge research.More information may be found at www.eng.yale.edu/levenelab/
