This work is supported by Wellcome grant 206401/Z/17/Z. We would like to thank Zafar Bashir for his expert mentorship and Dr. Clair Booth for technical assistance and comments on the manuscript.

All animal procedures were conducted in accordance with the United Kingdom Animals Scientific Procedures Act (1986) and associated guidelines as well as local institutional guidelines.
1. Stereotaxic viral injection
NOTE: The current protocol requires anatomical, but not post-synaptic cell type, specificity.
<ol>
	<li>Choose the appropriate animal. Male wild-type Lister hooded rats were used in this protocol (300-350 g, approximately 3 months old)...

<ol>
	<li>Martin, S., Grimwood, P., Morris, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Synaptic+plasticity+and+memory:+an+evaluation+of+the+hypothesis.">Synaptic plasticity and memory: an evaluation of the hypothesis.</a> Annual Review of Neuroscience. 23, 649-711 (2000).</li><li>Poorthuis, R. B., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Layer-specific+modulation+of+the+prefrontal+cortex+by+nicotinic+acetylcholine+receptors.">Layer-specific modulation of the prefrontal cortex by nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.</a> Cerebral Cortex. 23 (1), 148-161 (2013).</li><li>Scala, F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Layer+4+of+mouse+neocortex+differs+in+cell+types+and+circuit+organization+between+sensory+areas.">Layer 4 of mouse neocortex differs in cell types and circuit organization between sensory areas.</a> Nature Communications. 10 (1), 4174 (2019).</li><li>Nassar, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Diversity+and+overlap+of+parvalbumin+and+somatostatin+expressing+interneurons+in+mouse+presubiculum.">Diversity and overlap of parvalbumin and somatostatin expressing interneurons in mouse presubiculum.</a> Frontiers in Neural Circuits. 9, 20 (2015).</li><li>Dembrow, N. C., Chitwood, R. A., Johnston, D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Projection-specific+neuromodulation+of+medial+prefrontal+cortex+neurons.">Projection-specific neuromodulation of medial prefrontal cortex neurons.</a> Journal of Neuroscience. 30 (50), 16922-16937 (2010).</li><li>Whitaker, L. R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Bidirectional+modulation+of+intrinsic+excitability+in+rat+prelimbic+cortex+neuronal+ensembles+and+non-ensembles+after+operant+learning.">Bidirectional modulation of intrinsic excitability in rat prelimbic cortex neuronal ensembles and non-ensembles after operant learning.</a> Journal of Neuroscience. 37 (36), 8845-8856 (2017).</li><li>Skrede, K. K., Westgaard, R. 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The authors have nothing to disclose.

The protocol presented here describes a method to explore highly specific long-range synaptic projections using a combination of stereotaxic surgery to deliver AAVs encoding optogenetic constructs, and electrophysiology in acute brain slices (Figure 1). Together these techniques offer tools to characterize the physiology and plasticity of brain circuitry with high precision in long-range and anatomically diffuse pathways that were previously inaccessible using traditional, non-specific, elec...

Understanding the physiology of synapses and how they undergo plastic changes is fundamental for understanding how brain networks function in the healthy brain1, and how they malfunction in brain disorders. The use of acute ex vivo brain slices allows for the recording of the electrical activity of synapses from single neurons with a high signal-to-noise ratio using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings. Control of membrane potential and straightforward pharmacological manipulation allows isolation of receptor subtypes. These recordings can be made with exquisite specificity to identify the post-synaptic neuron, including laminar and sub-regional position2, cellular morphology3, presence of molecular markers4, its afferent projections5, or even if it was recently active6.
Achieving specificity of pre-synaptic inputs is, however, somewhat more challenging. The conventional method has used stimulation electrodes to excite the axons which run in a particular lamina. An example of this is in the hippocampus where local stimulation in the stratum radiatum activates synapses that project from the CA3 to the CA1 subfield7. In this instance, presynaptic specificity is achieved as CA3 input represents the sole excitatory input located within stratum radiatum which projects to CA1 pyramidal cells8. This high degree of input specificity achievable with conventional electrical presynaptic activation of CA3-CA1 axons is, however, an exception which is reflected in the intense study that this synapse has been subject to. In other brain regions, axons from multiple afferent pathways co-exist in the same lamina, for example, in layer 1 of neocortex9, thus rendering input-specific presynaptic stimulation impossible with conventional stimulating electrodes. This is problematic as different synaptic inputs may have divergent physiological properties; therefore, their co-stimulation may lead to mischaracterization of synaptic physiology.
The advent of optogenetics, the genetic encoding of photosensitive membrane proteins (opsins) such as channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), has allowed a vast expansion of possibilities for studying isolated synaptic projections between brain regions10,11. Here we describe a generalizable and low-cost solution to studying long-range synaptic physiology and plasticity. The optogenetic constructs are delivered in a highly specific manner using viral vectors allowing for extremely precise control of the pre-synaptic region of interest. Efferent projections will express the light-activated channel allowing for activation of these fibers in a target region. Thus, long-range, anatomically diffuse pathways that cannot be independently activated by traditional, non-specific, electrical stimulation can be studied.
We describe, as an example pathway, transduction of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) with adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) encoding excitatory cation-channel opsins. We then describe the preparation of acute slices from lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), patch-clamp recordings from layer 5 LEC pyramidal neurons, and light-evoked activation of glutamatergic mPFC-LEC projections (Figure 1). We also describe the histological assessment of the injection site to confirm the location of the pre-synaptic region of interest and identification of post-synaptic cell morphology.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>0.2 mL tube</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific Ltd</td>
			<td>12134102</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>10 &#181;L pipette</td>
			<td>Gilson</td>
			<td>FD10001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>24 well plate</td>
			<td>SARSTEDT</td>
			<td>83.3922</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3 way luer valve</td>
			<td>Cole-Parmer</td>
			<td>WZ-30600-02</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3,3&#8242;-Diaminobenzidine (DAB) substrate</td>
			<td>Vector Laboratories</td>
			<td>SK-4105</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>40x objective</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>LUMPLFLN40XW</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>4-aminopyridine</td>
			<td>Hello Bio</td>
			<td>HB1073</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>4x objective</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td>PLN4X/0.1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>AAV9-CaMKiia-hChR2(E123T/T159C)-mCherry</td>
			<td>Addgene</td>
			<td>35512</td>
			<td>Viral titre: 3.3x1013 GC/ml</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Achromatic lens</td>
			<td>Edmund Optics</td>
			<td>49363</td>
			<td>Focusses visual spectrum and near-IR</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Benchtop microcentrifuge</td>
			<td>Benchmark Scientific</td>
			<td>C1005*</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Biocytin</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>B4261</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Borosillicate glass capillary</td>
			<td>Warner Instruments</td>
			<td>G150F-6</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Burr</td>
			<td>Fine science tools</td>
			<td>19008-07</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CaCl2</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>C5670</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Camera - Qimaging Retiga Electro</td>
			<td>Photometrics</td>
			<td>01-ELECTRO-M-14-C</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Carbachol</td>
			<td>Tocris</td>
			<td>2810</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Chlorhexidine surgical scrub</td>
			<td>Vetasept</td>
			<td>XHG008</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clippers</td>
			<td>Andis</td>
			<td>22445</td>
			<td>AGC Super 2-Speed Detachable Blade Clipper</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Collimation condenser lens</td>
			<td>ThorLabs</td>
			<td>ACL2520-A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Coverslips</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific Ltd</td>
			<td>10011913</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cryostat</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>CM3050 S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>CsMeSO4</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>C1426</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cyanoacrylate glue</td>
			<td>Rapid Electronics Ltd</td>
			<td>84-4557</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Data acquisition device</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td>USB-6341 BNC</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>D-glucose</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>G8270</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dichroic mirror 500 nm long-pass</td>
			<td>Edmund Optics</td>
			<td>69899</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dichroic mirror 600 nm long-pass</td>
			<td>Edmund Optics</td>
			<td>69901</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dichroic mirror cube</td>
			<td>ThorLabs</td>
			<td>CM1-DCH/M</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>EGTA</td>
			<td>Millpore</td>
			<td>324626</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Electrode holder with side port</td>
			<td>HEKA</td>
			<td>895150</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Emission filter</td>
			<td>Chroma</td>
			<td>59022m</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Excitation filter</td>
			<td>Chroma</td>
			<td>ET570/20x</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eye gel</td>
			<td>Dechra</td>
			<td>Lubrithal</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fine paint brush</td>
			<td>Scientific Laboratory Supplies</td>
			<td>BRU2052</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Guillotine</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>DCAP</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>HEPES</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>H3375</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hydrogen peroxide solution</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>H1009</td>
			<td>30% (w/w)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isoflurane</td>
			<td>Henry Schein</td>
			<td>988-3245</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Isopentane</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M32631</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>KCl</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P3911</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>k-gluconate</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>G4500</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Kinematic fluorescence filter cube</td>
			<td>ThorLabs</td>
			<td>DFM1T1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>LED driver</td>
			<td>ThorLabs</td>
			<td>LEDD1B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Lidocaine ointment</td>
			<td>Teva</td>
			<td>80007150</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MgATP</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>A9187</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MgCl</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M2670</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MgSO4</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>M7506</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Micro drill</td>
			<td>Harvard Apparatus</td>
			<td>75-1887</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microelectrode puller</td>
			<td>Sutter instruments</td>
			<td>P-87</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microinjection syringe</td>
			<td>Hamilton</td>
			<td>7634-01/00</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microinjection syringe needle</td>
			<td>Hamilton</td>
			<td>7803-05</td>
			<td>Custom specification: gauge 33, length 15mm, point style 4 - 12&#176;</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Microinjection syringe pump</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>UMP3T-1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mounted blue LED</td>
			<td>ThorLabs</td>
			<td>M470L5</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mounted green LED</td>
			<td>ThorLabs</td>
			<td>M565L3</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Na2HPO4.7H2O</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S9390</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaCl</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S9888</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaGTP</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>G8877</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaH2PO4</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S0751</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaH2PO4.H2O</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S9638</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NaHCO3</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S5761</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>NIR LED</td>
			<td>OSRAM</td>
			<td>SFH4550</td>
			<td>Used for refracted IR imaging of slice, differential interference contrast (DIC) optics is another commonly used method</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>OCT medium</td>
			<td>VWR International</td>
			<td>RAYLLAMB/OCT</td>
			<td>Optimal cutting temperature medium</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>158127</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>P6148</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Patch clamp amplifier</td>
			<td>Molecular Devices</td>
			<td>700A</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Peristaltic pump</td>
			<td>World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td>Ministar</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Poly-L-lysine coated microscope slides</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific Ltd</td>
			<td>23-769-310</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Recording chamber</td>
			<td>Warner Instruments</td>
			<td>RC-26G</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Scalpel blade</td>
			<td>Swann Morton</td>
			<td>#24</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Slice anchor</td>
			<td>Warner Instruments</td>
			<td>SHD-26-GH/15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stereotaxic frame</td>
			<td>Kopf</td>
			<td>Model 902</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Stereotaxic holder for micro drill</td>
			<td>Harvard Apparatus</td>
			<td>75-1874</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sucrose</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>S0389</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Surgical Microscope</td>
			<td>Carl Zeiss</td>
			<td>OPMI 1 FR pro</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Suture</td>
			<td>Ethicon</td>
			<td>W577H</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Syringe filter for intracellular recording solution</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific Nalgene</td>
			<td>171-0020</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tetrodotoxin citrate</td>
			<td>Hello Bio</td>
			<td>HB1035</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Transfer pipettes</td>
			<td>Fisher Scientific Ltd</td>
			<td>10458842</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triton X-100</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>X100</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Upright fluorescence microscope</td>
			<td>Leica</td>
			<td>DM6 B</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VECTASHIELD Antifade Mounting Medium with DAPI</td>
			<td>Vector Laboratories</td>
			<td>H-1200-10</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>VECTASTAIN ABC-HRP kit</td>
			<td>Vector Laboratories</td>
			<td>PK-4000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vibratome</td>
			<td>Campden Instruments</td>
			<td>7000smz-2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>WinLTP</td>
			<td>https://www.winltp.com/</td>
			<td>Version 2.32</td>
			<td>Data acquisition software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Solution</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>aCSF</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>sucrose cutting solution</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>PFA</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Intracellular?</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

ex vivo optogenetic interrogation of long-range synaptic transmission and plasticity from medial prefrontal cortex to lateral entorhinal cortex

Studying the physiological properties of specific synapses in the brain, and how they undergo plastic changes, is a key challenge in modern neuroscience. Traditional in vitro electrophysiological techniques use electrical stimulation to evoke synaptic transmission. A major drawback of this method is its nonspecific nature; all axons in the region of the stimulating electrode will be activated, making it difficult to attribute an effect to a particular afferent connection. This issue can be overcome by replacing electrical stimulation with optogenetic-based stimulation. We describe a method for combining optogenetics with in vitro patch-clamp recordings. This is a powerful tool for the study of both basal synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity of precise anatomically defined synaptic connections and is applicable to almost any pathway in the brain. Here, we describe the preparation and handling of a viral vector encoding channelrhodopsin protein for surgical injection into a pre-synaptic region of interest (medial prefrontal cortex) in the rodent brain and making of acute slices of downstream target regions (lateral entorhinal cortex). A detailed procedure for combining patch-clamp recordings with synaptic activation by light stimulation to study short- and long-term synaptic plasticity is also presented. We discuss examples of experiments that achieve pathway- and cell-specificity by combining optogenetics and Cre-dependent cell labeling. Finally, histological confirmation of the pre-synaptic region of interest is described along with biocytin labeling of the post-synaptic cell, to allow further identification of the precise location and cell type.

In this protocol, we describe how to study long-range synaptic physiology and plasticity using viral delivery of optogenetic constructs. The protocol can be very easily adapted to studying almost any long-range connection in the brain. As an example, we describe the injection of AAVs encoding an opsin into rat mPFC, the preparation of acute slices from LEC, patch-clamp recordings from layer 5 LEC pyramidal neurons, and light-evoked activation of mPFC terminals in LEC (Figure 1).
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Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Ex Vivo Optogenetic Interrogation of Long-Range Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity from Medial Prefrontal Cortex to Lateral Entorhinal Cortex at JoVE.com

Ex Vivo Optogenetic Interrogation of Long-Range Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity from Medial Prefrontal Cortex to Lateral Entorhinal Cortex

Here we present a protocol describing viral transduction of discrete brain regions with optogenetic constructs to permit synapse-specific electrophysiological characterization in acute rodent brain slices.

Ex Vivo Optogenetic Interrogation of Long-Range Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity from Medial Prefrontal Cortex to Lateral Entorhinal Cortex

Studying the physiological properties of specific synapses in the brain, and how they undergo plastic changes, is a key challenge in modern neuroscience. ...

Virally delivered optogenetic constructs permit detailed electrophysiological characterization of the physiology and plasticity of specific synapses in acute brain slices. The primary advantages of activating synapses optogenetically is the ability to study long-range pathways, and the selective stimulation of axons which are not anatomically separated. Demonstrating the procedure will be Dr.Lisa Kinnavane, a research associate from our laboratory.To begin, load a Hamilton syringe into a microinjection syringe pump attached to a movable arm mounted to a stereotaxic frame. Then place a five-microliter aliquot of the virus in a microcentrifuge. Spin the tube for a few seconds and pipette two microliters of the viral preparation into the tube's lid.To fill the syringe with the viral preparation, view the needle tip with a surgical microscope. Then manually place the bolus of the virus at the tip of the needle, and withdraw the syringe plunger using the pump controls. Set the pump injection volume to 300 nanoliters and flow rate to 100 nanoliters per minute.Run the pump and confirm proper flow by observing the droplet of the virus at the needle tip. Absorb the virus on a cotton bud, and clean the needle with 70%ethanol. Next, using the adjuster screws on the stereotaxic frame, navigate the needle tip to the bregma, and take note of the stereotaxic measurements observed on the three vernier scales on the frame.Add, or subtract these distances from bregma coordinates. Make a burr hole at the skull surface using a micro-drill mounted to the stereotaxic arm. Insert the needle into the brain at the predetermined dorsoventral coordinate, and infuse a predetermined volume of the viral preparation.After infusion, leave the needle in situ for 10 minutes to allow for the diffusion of the bolus. Then remove the needle, and run the pump to ensure that the needle is not blocked. Two weeks after the viral injection, euthanize the rat, rapidly dissect the entire brain, and transfer it into the sucrose cutting solution.Using a metal teaspoon, pick up the brain, discard the excess solution, and place it onto a filter paper. Using a scalpel, remove the cerebellum, and cut the cerebrum in the coronal plane approximately halfway along its length. The posterior half is the LEC tissue block.Return the tissue block and the remaining brain to the sucrose cutting solution. Next, place a drop of cyanoacrylate glue onto a vibratome stage, and spread it into a thin layer. Then using a teaspoon, pick the LEC tissue block, and transfer it onto the glue patch, such that the anterior coronal cut has adhered.Install the stage into the vibratome tissue chamber, and quickly pour sufficient sucrose cutting solution to submerge the tissue. After orienting the ventral surface of the tissue block toward the blade, cut 350-micrometer thick slices from ventral to dorsal using a slow blade advancement speed. Typically, seven slices can be obtained per hemisphere.Transfer the slices to the slice collection chamber. Then place the collection chamber in a 34 degree Celsius water bath for one hour before returning to room temperature. Place the remainder of the brain in paraformaldehyde for 48 hours.For target cell identification, place the slice into the recording chamber, and immobilize it using a slice anchor. Under low magnification, using infrared illumination, navigate to the LEC layer five. Then change to the high magnification water immersion objective, and identify the pyramidal neurons.Mark the position of the cell on the monitor with tape. Next, to form a whole cell patch clamp, fabricate a borosilicate glass micro-pipette, and fill it with intracellular recording solution. Place the filled micro-pipette in the electrode holder and apply positive pressure by blowing hard into a mouthpiece connected to the electrode holder side port.Raise the microscope objective such that a meniscus forms and insert the electrode into the meniscus until it can be seen on the microscope. Open the Seal Test window, and determine whether the pipette resistance is three to five megaohms. Then touch the identified cell with a pipette tip, resulting in an indentation in the cell membrane.Next, apply negative pressure by suction at the mouthpiece, increasing pipette resistance. Continue applying negative pressure gradually until the cell membrane ruptures, resulting in whole cell capacitance transients. To enter the current clamp configuration, use a mounted LED directed into the microscope light path with filter cubes and appropriate optics, and apply light pulses to the slice via the 40X objective.Deliver trains of multiple light pulses at five hertz, 10 hertz, and 20 hertz to investigate the presynaptic release properties. To allow biocytin to fill the neuron, wait for at least 15 minutes after entering the whole cell configuration. In voltage clamp, monitor the membrane capacitance and input resistance.Then slowly withdraw the pipette along the approach angle away from the cell's soma, observing the slow disappearance of capacitance transients and membrane current, indicating the resealing of the cell membrane and formation of an outside-out patch at the pipette tip. Place the slice into paraformaldehyde in a 24-well plate and incubate overnight. Using OCT medium, attach a tissue block to the cryostat specimen disc.To freeze the tissue, place isopentane in an appropriate container and submerge the specimen disc, ensuring the tissue is above the level of the isopentane. Then lower the container of isopentane into liquid nitrogen, and allow the tissue to freeze. Once the tissue is completely frozen, leave the tissue block in the cryostat chamber at minus 20 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes to allow the temperature of the block to equilibrate.After equilibration, cut 40-micrometer thick sections in the cryostat, and use a fine paintbrush to guide the sections off the blade. Adhere these frozen sections to a room temperature poly-L-lysine-coated glass microscope slide by touching the slide to the sections. After adding 150 microliters of mounting medium to each slide, apply the cover slip, and remove any air bubbles by gently pressing on the cover slip.Cover the slides to protect against photobleaching, and let them air dry for 12 hours. Then using a fluorescence microscope, examine the location of the viral injection site. For biocytin staining, incubate the slices in 3%hydrogen peroxide in PBS for 30 minutes to block any endogenous peroxidase activity.Then wash the brain slices with PBS until no further oxygen bubbles are visible. Next, incubate the slices for three hours in 1%avidin-biotinylated HRP complex solution in PBS containing 0.1%Triton X-100. After six PBS washes, incubate each slice in DAB solution until the biocytin staining of neuronal structures becomes visible.Stop the reaction by transferring the slices in cold PBS. Then mount the slices onto the glass microscope slides using a brush. After removing excess PBS, add mounting medium.Cover the slices using cover slips, and let them air dry, as demonstrated earlier. A healthy pyramidal cell was located and patched. If post-synaptic cell identification is required, a cell expressing the fluorescent marker should be localized using widefield optics.Single light pulses of two milliseconds resulted in simple waveform optogenetic excitatory post-synaptic potentials. Short-term plasticity of the synapse is examined by applying five, 10, and 20 hertz trains of light stimulation. While investigating long-term plasticity, adding cholinergic agonist carbachol to the circulating aCSF for 10 minutes caused a long-term depression that was still evident 40 minutes after removal of the ligand.The length of the injection site was examined histologically. The fluorescent reporter mCherry was localized to the deeper layers of the prelimbic and infralimbic cortex. Further, staining a biocytin-filled cell confirmed its location and morphology.The critical steps of this protocol are accurate transduction of the afferent brain region, which can be verified post hoc, and rapid dissection of the brain when preparing acute slices. This procedure is easily combined with fluorescent labeling of an individual cell type, such as a particular interneuron sub-class. To do this, we'd use a transgenic animal that expresses a recombinase in that particular cell type.Virally delivered optogenetic constructs have allowed rapid advancements in the fields of systems and circuit neuroscience.

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Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

2.1K Görüntüleme.  University of Bristol. Viral olarak verilen optogenetik yapılar, akut beyin dilimlerinde spesifik sinapsların fizyolojisinin ve plastisitesinin ayrıntılı elektrofizyolojik karakterizasyonuna izin verir. Sinapsları optogenetik olarak aktive etmenin başlıca avantajları, uzun menzilli yolları inceleme yeteneği ve anatomik olarak ayrılmamış aksonların seçici uyarımıdır. Prosedürü gösteren, laboratuvarımızdan bir araştırma görevlisi olan Dr. Lisa Kinnavane olacaktır.Başlamak için, bi...