Name: Autore in primo piano: Svelare la codifica neurale e i meccanismi di elaborazione visiva nel collicolo superiore
Uploaded: 2023-04-21T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Unveiling Neural Coding and Mechanisms of Visual Processing in the Superior Colliculus at JoVE.com

Questo lavoro è sostenuto dalla National Natural Science Foundation of China (32271060). Y.-t.L. progettò la ricerca, eseguì l'esperimento, analizzò i dati e scrisse il manoscritto. Z.L. e R.W. eseguirono l'esperimento.

Tutte le procedure sperimentali sono state eseguite in conformità con le linee guida sul benessere degli animali e approvate dall'IACUC presso l'Istituto cinese per la ricerca sul cervello di Pechino.
NOTA: La tempistica per questo protocollo è la seguente: 1) fare la ventosa; 2) iniettare il virus; 3) impiantare la placca portatestina; 4) dopo 3 settimane, impiantare il tappo; 5) Dopo un recupero di ~ 3 giorni e l'assuefazione sul tapis roulant, eseguire l'imaging a due fotoni/ad ampio camp...

Imaging a due fotoni e calcio ad ampio campo nel collicolo superiore

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A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Preference+for+concentric+orientations+in+the+mouse+superior+colliculus.">Preference for concentric orientations in the mouse superior colliculus.</a> Nature Communications. 6, 6773 (2015).</li><li>de Malmazet, D., K&#252;hn, N. K., Farrow, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Retinotopic+separation+of+nasal+and+temporal+motion+selectivity+in+the+mouse+superior+colliculus.">Retinotopic separation of nasal and temporal motion selectivity in the mouse superior colliculus.</a> Current Biology. 28 (18), 2961-2969 (2018).</li><li>Li, Y. T., Turan, Z., Meister, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Functional+architecture+of+motion+direction+in+the+mouse+superior+colliculus.">Functional architecture of motion direction in the mouse superior colliculus.</a> Current Biology. 30 (17), 3304-3315 (2020).</li><li>Gribizis, A., 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=Visual+cortex+gains+independence+from+peripheral+drive+before+eye+opening.">Visual cortex gains independence from peripheral drive before eye opening.</a> Neuron. 104 (4), 711-723 (2019).</li><li>Inayat, S., 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=Neurons+in+the+most+superficial+lamina+of+the+mouse+superior+colliculus+are+highly+selective+for+stimulus+direction.">Neurons in the most superficial lamina of the mouse superior colliculus are highly selective for stimulus direction.</a> The Journal of Neuroscience. 35 (20), 7992-8003 (2015).</li><li>Barchini, J., Shi, X., Chen, H., Cang, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Bidirectional+encoding+of+motion+contrast+in+the+mouse+superior+colliculus.">Bidirectional encoding of motion contrast in the mouse superior colliculus.</a> eLife. 7, 35261 (2018).</li><li>Savier, E. L., Chen, H., Cang, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effects+of+locomotion+on+visual+responses+in+the+mouse+superior+colliculus.">Effects of locomotion on visual responses in the mouse superior colliculus.</a> The Journal of Neuroscience. 39 (47), 9360-9368 (2019).</li><li>Schr&#246;der, S., 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=Arousal+modulates+retinal+output.">Arousal modulates retinal output.</a> Neuron. 107 (3), 487-495 (2020).</li><li>Ge, X., 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=Retinal+waves+prime+visual+motion+detection+by+simulating+future+optic+flow.">Retinal waves prime visual motion detection by simulating future optic flow.</a> Science. 373 (6553), (2021).</li><li>Chen, H., Savier, E. L., DePiero, V. J., Cang, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Lack+of+evidence+for+stereotypical+direction+columns+in+the+mouse+superior+colliculus.">Lack of evidence for stereotypical direction columns in the mouse superior colliculus.</a> The Journal of Neuroscience. 41 (3), 461-473 (2021).</li><li>Kasai, M., Isa, T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effects+of+light+isoflurane+anesthesia+on+organization+of+direction+and+orientation+selectivity+in+the+superficial+layer+of+the+mouse+superior+colliculus.">Effects of light isoflurane anesthesia on organization of direction and orientation selectivity in the superficial layer of the mouse superior colliculus.</a> The Journal of Neuroscience. 42 (4), 619-630 (2022).</li><li>Kim, S., 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=The+apical+complex+couples+cell+fate+and+cell+survival+to+cerebral+cortical+development.">The apical complex couples cell fate and cell survival to cerebral cortical development.</a> Neuron. 66 (1), 69-84 (2010).</li><li>Kaifosh, P., Zaremba, J. D., Danielson, N. B., Losonczy, A. S. I. M. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Python+software+for+analysis+of+dynamic+fluorescence+imaging+data.">Python software for analysis of dynamic fluorescence imaging data.</a> Frontiers in Neuroinformatics. 8, 80 (2014).</li><li>Pnevmatikakis, E. A., Giovannucci, A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=NoRMCorre:+An+online+algorithm+for+piecewise+rigid+motion+correction+of+calcium+imaging+data.">NoRMCorre: An online algorithm for piecewise rigid motion correction of calcium imaging data.</a> Journal of Neuroscience Methods. 291, 83-94 (2017).</li><li>Kerlin, A. M., Andermann, M. L., Berezovskii, V. K., Reid, R. 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Passaggi critici del protocollo La fase più critica è la craniotomia nelle fasi 5.2 e 5.3. Innanzitutto, l'osso a 0,5 mm dietro la lambda è spesso e ha vasi sanguigni all'interno, che possono causare sanguinamento durante il processo di perforazione. Deve essere preparata un'adeguata schiuma di gel per fermare l'emorragia. In secondo luogo, c'è una buona probabilità di angioressi quando si rimuove l'osso appena sopra il seno trasverso. Per la risoluzione dei problemi, un approccio alternativo con...

Il collicolo superiore (SC) è un importante centro visivo in tutti i vertebrati. Nei mammiferi, riceve input diretti dalla retina e dalla corteccia visiva1. Mentre la registrazione ottica è stata ampiamente applicata alla corteccia 2,3,4,5, la sua applicazione nel SC è ostacolata da scarsi accessi ottici 6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17 ,18,19. L'obiettivo di questo protocollo è quello di fornire dettagli su due metodi complementari per la registrazione ottica dell'attività neurale nel SC.
L'SC si trova sotto la corteccia e il seno trasverso, il che limita l'accesso ottico ai neuroni collicolari. Un approccio per superare questa limitazione è quello di aspirare la corteccia sovrapposta ed esporre il SC antero-laterale 7,9,10,13,14,19. Tuttavia, poiché il SC riceve input corticali, tale operazione potrebbe influenzare il modo in cui i neuroni SC rispondono agli stimoli visivi. Per ovviare a questa limitazione, descriviamo qui un protocollo alternativo per visualizzare lo strato superficiale del SC posteriore-mediale con un tappo di silicio, lasciando intatta la corteccia 8,11. In particolare, per ottenere una risoluzione a singola cellula, abbiamo applicato la microscopia a due fotoni per visualizzare le risposte del calcio nel SC posteriore-mediale di topi wild-type. Inoltre, per ottenere un'ampia copertura, abbiamo applicato la microscopia ad ampio campo per visualizzare l'intero SC di un topo mutante la cui corteccia posteriore non si è sviluppata20.
I due metodi descritti in questo protocollo sono complementari l'uno all'altro. L'imaging del calcio a due fotoni senza ablazione della corteccia è appropriato per registrare l'attività neurale a risoluzione di una singola cellula con input corticali intatti. L'imaging del calcio ad ampio campo è appropriato per registrare l'attività neurale nell'intero SC sacrificando la risoluzione spaziale.

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		<tr>
			<td>16x objective</td>
			<td>Nikon</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
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			<td>50-mm lens</td>
			<td>Computar</td>
			<td>M5018-MP2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5-mm coverslip</td>
			<td>Warner instruments</td>
			<td>CS-5R</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>bandpass filter</td>
			<td>Chroma Technology</td>
			<td>HQ575/250 m-2p</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>butyl cyanoacrylate</td>
			<td>Vetbond, World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>camera for monitoring pupil</td>
			<td>FLIR</td>
			<td>BFS-U3-04S2M-CS</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>camera for widefield imaging</td>
			<td>Basler</td>
			<td>acA2000-165&#181;m</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>corona treater</td>
			<td>Electro-Technic Products</td>
			<td>BD-20AC</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>dichroic</td>
			<td>Chroma Technology</td>
			<td>T600/200dcrb&#160;</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>galvanometers</td>
			<td>Cambridge Technology</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>glass bead sterilizer</td>
			<td>RWD</td>
			<td>RS1502</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>microdrill</td>
			<td>RWD</td>
			<td>78001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>micromanipulator</td>
			<td>Sutter Instruments</td>
			<td>QUAD</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>photomultiplier tube</td>
			<td>Hamamatsu</td>
			<td>R3896</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rotory encoder</td>
			<td>USdigital</td>
			<td>MA3-A10-125-N</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>self-curing dental adhesive resin cement&#160;</td>
			<td>SuperBond C&#38;B, Sun Medical Co, Ltd. Moriyama, Japan</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>thermostatic heating pad&#160;</td>
			<td>RWD</td>
			<td>69020</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ti:Sapphire laser</td>
			<td>Spectra-Physics</td>
			<td>Mai Tai HP DeepSee</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>translucent silicone adhesive&#160;</td>
			<td>Kwik-Sil, World Precision Instruments</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>treadmill</td>
			<td>Xinglin Biology</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Virus Strains</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>rAAV2/9-hsyn-Gcamp6m</td>
			<td>Vector Core at Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Animals</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>C57BL/6J wild type</td>
			<td>Laboratory Animal Resource Center at Chinese Institute for Brain Research, Beijing</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Emx1-Cre</td>
			<td>The Jackson Laboratory&#160;</td>
			<td>5628</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Pals1flox/wt</td>
			<td>Christopher A. Walsh Lab</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Software</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ImageJ</td>
			<td>NIH Image</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Labview</td>
			<td>National Instruments</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>MATLAB</td>
			<td>Mathworks</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
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calcium imaging in mouse superior colliculus

Il collicolo superiore (SC), una struttura del mesencefalo evolutivamente conservata in tutti i vertebrati, è il centro visivo più sofisticato prima dell'emergere della corteccia cerebrale. Riceve input diretti da ~30 tipi di cellule gangliari retiniche (RGC), ognuna delle quali codifica una specifica caratteristica visiva. Rimane incerto se il SC erediti semplicemente le caratteristiche retiniche o se si verifichi un'elaborazione aggiuntiva e potenzialmente de novo nel SC. Per rivelare la codifica neurale delle informazioni visive nel SC, forniamo qui un protocollo dettagliato per registrare otticamente le risposte visive con due metodi complementari nei topi svegli. Un metodo utilizza la microscopia a due fotoni per visualizzare l'attività del calcio a una risoluzione a singola cellula senza ablare la corteccia sovrapposta, mentre l'altro utilizza la microscopia ad ampio campo per visualizzare l'intero SC di un topo mutante la cui corteccia è in gran parte non sviluppata. Questo protocollo descrive in dettaglio questi due metodi, tra cui la preparazione dell'animale, l'iniezione virale, l'impianto della placca testa, l'impianto del tappo, l'acquisizione dei dati e l'analisi dei dati. I risultati rappresentativi mostrano che l'imaging del calcio a due fotoni rivela risposte neuronali evocate visivamente a una risoluzione a singola cellula e l'imaging del calcio ad ampio campo rivela l'attività neurale in tutto il SC. Combinando questi due metodi, si può rivelare la codifica neurale nel SC su scale diverse, e tale combinazione può essere applicata anche ad altre regioni del cervello.

The superior colliculus (SC) is an important visual center in all vertebrates. In mammals, it receives direct inputs from the retina and the visual cortex1. While optical recording has been widely applied to the cortex2,3,4,5, its application in the SC is hindered by poor optical accesss6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19. The goal of this protocol is to provide details about two complementary methods for optical recording of the neural activity in the SC.
The SC is located beneath the cortex and transverse sinus, which limits optical access to the collicular neurons. One approach to overcome this limitation is to aspirate the overlaying cortex and expose the anterior-lateral SC7,9,10,13,14,19. However, because the SC receives cortical inputs, such an operation might affect how the SC neurons respond to visual stimuli. To overcome this limitation, we detail here an alternative protocol to image the superficial layer of the posterior-medial SC with a silicon plug, while leaving the cortex intact8,11. Specifically, to achieve single-cell resolution, we applied two-photon microscopy to image calcium responses in the posterior-medial SC of wild-type mice. In addition, to achieve broad coverage, we applied wide-field microscopy to image the entire SC of a mutant mouse whose posterior cortex has not developed20.
The two methods described in this protocol are complementary to each other. The two-photon calcium imaging without ablating the cortex is appropriate for recording neural activity at&#160;single-cell resolution with intact cortical inputs. The wide-field calcium imaging is appropriate for recording neural activity in the entire SC while sacrificing spatial resolution.

Autore in primo piano: Svelare la codifica neurale e i meccanismi di elaborazione visiva nel collicolo superiore 

Imaging del calcio nel collicolo superiore del topo

My research focuses on neural coding and mechanisms for visual processing. We are trying to answer how various information is encoded in the brain, especially in the superior colliculus under the underlying neuro-mechanisms. To understand visual processing, scientists combine various approaches, including neuronal morphology, antegrade and retrograde tracing, IL sequencing, neuro modeling, machine learning, is understood well.The challenge is to remove the skull over the SSA, cutting and left in the bone in one larger piece, is likely to fail because the bone is attached to the dura. By combining two photo on a wide field calcium image, our recent work revealed the function architecture of motion direction in the mouse SC at both single cell resolution and a global scale. We found that neurons with similar preference form patches up to 500 micrometer under global to the upward on the nasal motion.With our protocol, we are addressing two research gaps. First, researchers can perform long-term cast imaging in mouse SC at a single cell resolution without breaking the cortex. Secondly, researchers can record the neuroactivity across the entire SC using widefield microscoping.Our protocol provides a measure to image the posterior medial SC at single cell resolution with a intact cortex in mice. Also, we use a biocompatible plug to expose the SC, which reduces infection for chronic imaging. Our results provide a way to study the neural coding of visual information across a large visual field.Combined with optogenetics, one can study half inputs from different brain regions modulating the neuroactivity in SC.

Le figure 1A,B mostrano come realizzare rispettivamente la ventosa e i tappi. La Figura 2 mostra come impiantare correttamente la spina. Dopo aver impiantato il tappo, l'SC posteriore-mediale viene esposto, come mostrato nella Figura 2D. La Figura 3 mostra le risposte del calcio dei neuroni SC da un esempio di topo wild-type ripreso utilizzando la microscopia a due fotoni. Il prisma tri...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Unveiling Neural Coding and Mechanisms of Visual Processing in the Superior Colliculus at JoVE.com

Questo protocollo descrive in dettaglio la procedura per l'imaging delle risposte del calcio nel collicolo superiore (SC) dei topi svegli, compreso l'imaging dell'attività di un singolo neurone con microscopia a due fotoni, lasciando intatta la corteccia nei topi wild-type, e l'imaging dell'intero SC con microscopia ad ampio campo nei topi mutanti a corteccia parziale.

The superior colliculus (SC), an evolutionarily conserved midbrain structure in all vertebrates, is the most sophisticated visual center before the ...

La mia ricerca si concentra sulla codifica neurale e sui meccanismi per l'elaborazione visiva. Stiamo cercando di rispondere a come le varie informazioni sono codificate nel cervello, in particolare nel collicolo superiore sotto i meccanismi neurologici sottostanti. Per comprendere l'elaborazione visiva, gli scienziati combinano vari approcci, tra cui la morfologia neuronale, il tracciamento anterogrado e retrogrado, il sequenziamento IL, la modellazione neurologica, l'apprendimento automatico.La sfida è quella di rimuovere il cranio sopra la SSA, tagliando e lasciando nell'osso in un unico pezzo più grande, è probabile che fallisca perché l'osso è attaccato alla dura. Combinando due foto su un'immagine di calcio ad ampio campo, il nostro recente lavoro ha rivelato l'architettura funzionale della direzione del movimento nel topo SC sia a risoluzione singola che su scala globale. Abbiamo scoperto che i neuroni con preferenza simile formano chiazze fino a 500 micrometri sotto il globale verso l'alto sul movimento nasale.Con il nostro protocollo, stiamo colmando due lacune nella ricerca. In primo luogo, i ricercatori possono eseguire l'imaging a lungo termine in SC di topo con una risoluzione di una singola cellula senza rompere la corteccia. In secondo luogo, i ricercatori possono registrare la neuroattività attraverso l'intero SC utilizzando il microscopio a campo largo.Il nostro protocollo fornisce una misura per visualizzare lo SC mediale posteriore alla risoluzione di una singola cellula con una corteccia intatta nei topi. Inoltre, utilizziamo un tappo biocompatibile per esporre l'SC, che riduce l'infezione per l'imaging cronico. I nostri risultati forniscono un modo per studiare la codifica neurale delle informazioni visive in un ampio campo visivo.In combinazione con l'optogenetica, si possono studiare i mezzi input provenienti da diverse regioni cerebrali che modulano la neuroattività in SC.

calcium-imaging-in-mouse-superior-colliculus

Research

JoVE Journal

Neuroscience

Calcium Imaging in Mouse Superior Colliculus

The superior colliculus (SC), an evolutionarily conserved midbrain structure in all vertebrates, is the most sophisticated visual center before the emergence of the cerebral cortex. It receives direct inputs from ~30 types of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), with each encoding a specific visual feature. It remains elusive whether the SC simply inherits retinal features or if additional and potentially de novo processing occurs in the SC. To reveal the neural coding of visual information in the SC, we provide here a detailed protocol to optically record visual responses with two complementary methods in awake mice. One method uses two-photon microscopy to image calcium activity at single-cell resolution without ablating the overlaying cortex, while the other uses wide-field microscopy to image the whole SC of a mutant mouse whose cortex is largely undeveloped. This protocol details these two methods, including animal preparation, viral injection, headplate implantation, plug implantation, data acquisition, and data analysis. The representative results show that the two-photon calcium imaging reveals visually evoked neuronal responses at single-cell resolution, and the wide-field calcium imaging reveals&#160;neural activity across the entire SC. By combining these two methods, one can reveal the neural coding in the SC at different scales, and such combination can also be applied to other brain regions.

This protocol details the procedure for imaging calcium responses in the superior colliculus (SC) of awake mice, including imaging single-neuron activity with two-photon microscopy while leaving the cortex intact in wild-type mice, and imaging the entire SC with wide-field microscopy in partial-cortex mutant mice.

Ricerca

Neuroscienze

Preparation of a Suction Cup and Plugs for Calcium Imaging in Mouse

Begin the process of creating a suction cup by depositing a drop of PBS in an acrylic dish. Use a 21 gauge flat needle to fill the tip of the needle with PBS by capillarity. Cover the tip of the needle with a translucent silicone adhesive, and set it for approximately 10 minutes.Cut the silicone adhesive with scissors to a disc with a two millimeter diameter. To prepare the plugs, take a 0.75 millimeter thick plastic shim stock and cut out a one by one centimeter square in the center. Clean the shim stock and two acrylic blocks with alcohol, and wipe them with lens paper.Place the shim stock on one acrylic block, and deposit silicone adhesive into the center to fill 90%of the opening. Add another acrylic block. Apply approximately one kilogram of force, and wait 20 minutes.Under a surgical microscope, cut the silicone adhesive with a scalpel into one by 1.5 millimeter triangular prisms. Remove any dust from the triangular prisms with sticky plastic tape, and place them on a glass cover slip. Place the cover slip with the triangular prisms under a corona treater and turn it on.Bring the corona treater closer to the cover slip until lightning appears, and hold it in that position for a few minutes until the prisms and cover slip are attached. After placing the plugs in a Petri dish, incubate at 70 degrees Celsius overnight.

Preparazione di una ventosa e tappi per l'imaging del calcio nel topo

Viral Construct (AAV) Injection in Mouse Superior Colliculus for Calcium Imaging

Begin by securing the anesthetized mouse onto a stereotaxic frame with ear bars. Apply ophthalmic ointment on the mouse's eyes to prevent drying, and maintain the body temperature of the mouse at 37 degrees Celsius with a thermostatic heating pad. After shaving the fur and sterilizing the surgical site, inject lidocaine, tilidine, and meloxicam.Once the skin over the SC is removed, clean the skull with a cotton swab. Adjust the stereotaxic frame until the skull surface is flat. Using a drill, create a whole 0.5 millimeter lateral, and 0.42 millimeter anterior to the lambda, until the dura is exposed.Inject an adeno-associated virus, or AAV, expressing GCaMP6m, at depths of one millimeter and 1.6 millimeters from the Lambda using a beveled glass micro-pipette. After the injection, slowly withdraw the injector and proceed with the implantation of the head plate.

Iniezione di costrutto virale (AAV) nel collicolo superiore del topo per l'imaging del calcio

Implantation of the Headplate in Mouse for Calcium Imaging 

After injecting the viral construct into the mouse brain, clean the muscles and tissues over the skull, and scratch the skull with a blade. Prepare the dental adhesive resin cement by mixing 3/4 spoonful of polymer, three drops of monomer, and one drop of catalyst in a ceramic bowl on ice. Apply the mixture to the head plate and the skull.Attach them and wait for the adhesive to set for five minutes. Finally, inject antibiotics to prevent infections. After removing the mouse from the stereotaxic frame, place it on a heating pad for recovery, and return it to the home cage after recovering from anesthesia.

Impianto della placca testativa nel topo per l'imaging del calcio 

Implanting the Plug in the Mouse for Calcium Imaging

Three weeks after the viral infection, anesthetize and fix the mouse with a head plate on a stereotaxic frame. Soak a gel foam in saline to stop potential bleeding. Use a micro-drill to create a three by two millimeter oval, centered at 0.5 millimeter posterior to the lambda.Thin the boundary of the oval until it cracks, then thin the skull before the oval recording window to close the cover slip to the SC.Using fine forceps, take off the bone flaps. Make a cut down the dura, posterior to the transverse sinus and remove the piece of dura. Dry the skull and the recording window with gel foam and cotton swabs.Then deposit a drop of silicone adhesive into the recording window. Use the suction cup to hold the plug with negative pressure, and use a motorized micro-manipulator to move the suction cup and lower the plug into the silicone adhesive until the cover slip touches the skull. Once the head plate is cleaned, apply butyl cyanoacrylate and resin cement around the boundary of the plug to fix it to the head plate and proceed with imaging.

Impiantare la spina nel topo per l'imaging del calcio

Two-Photon Calcium Imaging of Mouse Superior Colliculus Neurons

After implanting the head plate and plug, secure the animal on a rotating treadmill with its head plate. Place the treadmill beneath the two-photon microscope and adjust the height to an appropriate position. Place a black aluminum cone between the objective and the head plate to prevent light contamination from the monitor for visual stimulation.To perform two-photon imaging, adjust the laser power at the sample plane between 20 and 80 milliwatts. Scan a 600-by-600 micrometer field of view at 4.8 hertz with a spatial resolution of 2.4 micrometers per pixel and image neural activity up to 350 micrometers in depth. Using a rotary encoder, record the mouse's locomotion on the treadmill.Use a camera with a 50 millimeter lens to record its pupil size and position. Lastly, synchronize these recordings, and image acquisitions to visual stimulation by recording triggers sent by the stimulation computer. The calcium responses of SC neurons from a wild type mouse and the standard deviation projection of the fluorescence across images are presented.

Imaging del calcio a due fotoni dei neuroni del collicolo superiore del topo

Wide-Field Calcium Imaging of Mouse Superior Colliculus Neurons

To begin, inject 100 nanoliters of AAV expressing GCaMP6m at a depth of 200 micrometers at the center of each side of the SC to the mutant mouse whose posterior cortex has failed to develop. After approximately three weeks, implant a five millimeter diameter cover slip over the SC.After fixing the cover slip, acquire images using a CMOA camera after passing an emission filter at 10 hertz. The calcium responses of SC neurons from a partial cortex mutant mouse were imaged using wide-field microscopy.The acquired image was down sampled to one quarter of the original size, and visually evoked calcium responses are shown.