Probing spatial inhomogeneity of cholinergic changes in cortical state in rat

Decoding of attentional state using local field potentials

We review recent efforts to decode visual spatial attention from different types of brain signals, such as spikes and local field potentials (LFPs). Combining signals from more electrodes improves decoding, but the pattern of improvement varies considerably depending on the signal as well as the task (for example, decoding of sensory stimulus/motor intention versus location of attention). We argue that this pattern of results conveys important information not only about the usefulness of a particular brain signal for decoding attention, but also about the spatial scale over which attention operates in the brain. The spatial scale, in turn, likely depends on the extent of underlying mechanisms such as normalization, gain control via excitation-inhibition interactions, and neuromodulatory regulation of attention.

Imaging in vivo acetylcholine release in the peripheral nervous system with a fluorescent nanosensor

The ability to monitor the release of neurotransmitters during synaptic transmission would significantly impact the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases. Here, we present a DNA-based enzymatic nanosensor for quantitative detection of acetylcholine (ACh) in the peripheral nervous system of living mice. ACh nanosensors consist of DNA as a scaffold, acetylcholinesterase as a recognition component, pH-sensitive fluorophores as signal generators, and α-bungarotoxin as a targeting moiety. We demonstrate the utility of the nanosensors in the submandibular ganglia of living mice to sensitively detect ACh ranging from 0.228 to 358 μM. In addition, the sensor response upon electrical stimulation of the efferent nerve is dose dependent, reversible, and we observe a reduction of ∼76% in sensor signal upon pharmacological inhibition of ACh release. Equipped with an advanced imaging processing tool, we further spatially resolve ACh signal propagation on the tissue level. Our platform enables sensitive measurement and mapping of ACh transmission in the peripheral nervous system.