Motion quantification during multi-photon functional imaging in behaving animals

The COMBO window: A chronic cranial implant for multiscale circuit interrogation in mice

Neuroscientists studying the neural correlates of mouse behavior often lack access to the brain-wide activity patterns elicited during a specific task of interest. Fortunately, large-scale imaging is becoming increasingly accessible thanks to modalities such as Ca2+ imaging and functional ultrasound (fUS). However, these and other techniques often involve challenging cranial window procedures and are difficult to combine with other neuroscience tools. We address this need with an open-source 3D-printable cranial implant-the COMBO (ChrOnic Multimodal imaging and Behavioral Observation) window. The COMBO window enables chronic imaging of large portions of the brain in head-fixed mice while preserving orofacial movements. We validate the COMBO window stability using both brain-wide fUS and multisite two-photon imaging. Moreover, we demonstrate how the COMBO window facilitates the combination of optogenetics, fUS, and electrophysiology in the same animals to study the effects of circuit perturbations at both the brain-wide and single-neuron level. Overall, the COMBO window provides a versatile solution for performing multimodal brain recordings in head-fixed mice.

Fast wavefront shaping for two-photon brain imaging with multipatch correction

Nonlinear fluorescence microscopy promotes in-vivo optical imaging of cellular structure at diffraction-limited resolution deep inside scattering biological tissues. Active compensation of tissue-induced aberrations and light scattering through adaptive wavefront correction further extends the accessible depth by restoring high resolution at large depth. However, those corrections are only valid over a very limited field of view within the angular memory effect. To overcome this limitation, we introduce an acousto-optic light modulation technique for fluorescence imaging with simultaneous wavefront correction at pixel scan speed. Biaxial wavefront corrections are first learned by adaptive optimization at multiple locations in the image field. During image acquisition, the learned corrections are then switched on the fly according to the position of the excitation focus during the raster scan. The proposed microscope is applied to in vivo transcranial neuron imaging and demonstrates multi-patch correction of thinned skull-induced aberrations and scattering at 40-kHz data acquisition speed.

Assessing Local and Branch-specific Activity in Dendrites

Dendrites are elaborate neural processes which integrate inputs from various sources in space and time. While decades of work have suggested an independent role for dendrites in driving nonlinear computations for the cell, only recently have technological advances enabled us to capture the variety of activity in dendrites and their coupling dynamics with the soma. Under certain circumstances, activity generated in a given dendritic branch remains isolated, such that the soma or even sister dendrites are not privy to these localized signals. Such branch-specific activity could radically increase the capacity and flexibility of coding for the cell as a whole. Here, we discuss these forms of localized and branch-specific activity, their functional relevance in plasticity and behavior, and their supporting biophysical and circuit-level mechanisms. We conclude by showcasing electrical and optical approaches in hippocampal area CA3, using original experimental data to discuss experimental and analytical methodology and key considerations to take when investigating the functional relevance of independent dendritic activity.

Large-scale two-photon calcium imaging in freely moving mice

We developed a miniaturized two-photon microscope (MINI2P) for fast, high-resolution, multiplane calcium imaging of over 1,000 neurons at a time in freely moving mice. With a microscope weight below 3 g and a highly flexible connection cable, MINI2P allowed stable imaging with no impediment of behavior in a variety of assays compared to untethered, unimplanted animals. The improved cell yield was achieved through a optical system design featuring an enlarged field of view (FOV) and a microtunable lens with increased z-scanning range and speed that allows fast and stable imaging of multiple interleaved planes, as well as 3D functional imaging. Successive imaging across multiple, adjacent FOVs enabled recordings from more than 10,000 neurons in the same animal. Large-scale proof-of-principle data were obtained from cell populations in visual cortex, medial entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus, revealing spatial tuning of cells in all areas.

Functional hyperemia drives fluid exchange in the paravascular space

The brain lacks a conventional lymphatic system to remove metabolic waste. It has been proposed that directional fluid movement through the arteriolar paravascular space (PVS) promotes metabolite clearance. We performed simulations to examine if arteriolar pulsations and dilations can drive directional CSF flow in the PVS and found that arteriolar wall movements do not drive directional CSF flow. We propose an alternative method of metabolite clearance from the PVS, namely fluid exchange between the PVS and the subarachnoid space (SAS). In simulations with compliant brain tissue, arteriolar pulsations did not drive appreciable fluid exchange between the PVS and the SAS. However, when the arteriole dilated, as seen during functional hyperemia, there was a marked exchange of fluid. Simulations suggest that functional hyperemia may serve to increase metabolite clearance from the PVS. We measured blood vessels and brain tissue displacement simultaneously in awake, head-fixed mice using two-photon microscopy. These measurements showed that brain deforms in response to pressure changes in PVS, consistent with our simulations. Our results show that the deformability of the brain tissue needs to be accounted for when studying fluid flow and metabolite transport.

Correction of z-motion artefacts to allow population imaging of synaptic activity in behaving mice

KEY POINTS

Motion artefacts associated with motor behaviour are an inevitable problem of multiphoton imaging in awake behaving animals, particularly when imaging synapses. Correction of axial motion artefacts usually requires volumetric imaging resulting in slower rates of acquisition. We describe a method to correct z-motion artefacts that is easy to implement and allows population imaging of synaptic activity while scanning a single plane in a standard multiphoton microscope. The method uses a reference volume acquired in two colour channels - an activity reporter and an anatomical marker of blood vessels. The procedure estimates the z-displacement in every frame and applies an intensity correction in which the z intensity profile for each synapse is modelled as a Moffat function. We demonstrate that the method allows synaptic calcium signals to be collected from populations of synaptic boutons in mouse primary visual cortex during locomotion.

ABSTRACT

Functional imaging of head-fixed, behaving mice using two-photon imaging of fluorescent activity reporters has become a powerful tool for studying the function of the brain. Motion artefacts are an inevitable problem during such experiments and are routinely corrected for in x and y dimensions. However, axial (z) shifts of several microns can also occur, leading to intensity fluctuations in structures such as synapses that are small compared to the axial point-spread function of the microscope. Here we present a simple strategy to correct z-motion artefacts arising over the course of a time-series experiment in a single optical plane. Displacement in z was calculated using dye-filled blood vessels as an anatomical marker, providing high contrast images and accuracy to within ∼0.1 µm. The axial profiles of ROIs corresponding to synapses were described using a Moffat function and this 'ROI-spread function' used to correct activity traces on an ROI-by-ROI basis. We demonstrate the accuracy and utility of the procedures in simulation experiments using fluorescent beads and then apply them to correcting measurements of synaptic activity in populations of vasoactive-intestinal peptide (VIP) interneurons expressing the synaptic reporter SyGCaMP6f. Correction of z-motion artefacts had a substantial impact on the apparent correlation between synaptic activity and running speed, demonstrating the importance of correcting these when performing imaging experiments in awake mice.