Microscope for observing the work of animal brains

2022: Building a system to observe the performance of single neurons in animal brains

A group of Russian physicists from NUST MISIS, the University of Texas, Moscow State University and the Russian Quantum Center led by Alexei Zheltikov, professor at Texas A&M University at College Station (USA) have created a device based on specialized fiber that can be used to observe the work of single neurons in the brains of mice and other animals. This was reported to Zdrav.Expert by the presenters of NUST MISIS on July 7, 2022. The results of the work are presented in the international scientific journal Journal of Biophotonics.

A microscope has been created to study the brains of animals in the most natural conditions

"We have demonstrated that our system allows the work of the brains of mice that move freely inside a cell adapted to study their cognitive abilities. This will allow biologists to study interactions between individual nerve cells in key brain regions of free-moving test rodents, "the researchers wrote in their work.

As of July 2022, there are several brain cell activity imaging systems to observe the work of groups of neurons in a living organism. Typically, their work requires modifications to the animals' genome, causing their nerve cells to produce flashes of light if they exhibit any form of electrical activity.

Such technologies have greatly enriched the arsenal of neurophysiologists, but their use is complicated by the fact that complex optical systems are needed to observe the work of brain cells, allowing you to focus the image coming from the brain. This places serious restrictions on the use of these neuroimaging systems during experiments that allow animals to move freely.

To create the device, Russian and American physicists managed to create a system that allows such experiments. Scientists have achieved this through the use of specialized fiber and a hovercraft enclosure platform.

As physicists explained, this optical fiber is designed in such a way that its refractive power smoothly changes as it moves from the center to the edges of the light-conducting material. This fiber feature allows the radiation produced by individual neurons in the brains of mice to be focused without the use of any other optical components.

In turn, the hovercraft platform allows mice to move freely in space, despite the fact that a fragment of fiber with a clearly calibrated length is built into their skull, necessary for accurate focusing of the image. A microscope and a special fixing module are connected to this light guide, holding them above the same point of the body of the experimental animal.

The work of this system of physics was tested on several mice, whose nerve cells produced a green glow during their work. These experiments confirmed that the system can actually track the activity of nerve cells in the body of freely moving mice and receive clear images of individual neurons. Scientists hope that the hardware complex they have created will speed up the study of the work of animal brain cells in the most natural conditions.

See also

• Neurons
• Human brain