Microprisms enable enhanced throughput and resolution for longitudinal tracking of neuronal ensembles in deep brain structures

Madelyn M. Hjort; Raajaram Gowrishankar; Lucy Tian; Adam Gordon-Fennell; Vijay M. K. Namboodiri; Michael R. Bruchas; Garret D. Stuber

doi:10.1117/1.NPh.11.3.033407

20 March 2024 Microprisms enable enhanced throughput and resolution for longitudinal tracking of neuronal ensembles in deep brain structures

Madelyn M. Hjort, Raajaram Gowrishankar, Lucy Tian, Adam Gordon-Fennell, Vijay M. K. Namboodiri, Michael R. Bruchas, Garret D. Stuber

Author Affiliations +

Neurophotonics, Vol. 11, Issue 3, 033407 (March 2024). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.11.3.033407

Abstract

Significance

Microprism-mediated calcium imaging of deep brain structures allows for reliable tracking of thousands of cells across days, a marked improvement compared with industry-standard approaches utilizing gradient-index (GRIN) lenses.

Aim

We aim to develop a method to record, track, and functionally characterize thousands of cortical and subcortical neurons using an endoscopic microprism and to benchmark the performance against traditional GRIN lenses.

Approach

To improve the visualization throughput of subcortical ensembles, we developed and characterized a protocol to implant a microprism. We performed two-photon calcium imaging through microprisms and compared the yield, cell quality, and optical characteristics to industry-standard GRIN lenses.

Results

We found that our microprism method can stably isolate and track thousands of active neurons across days to weeks. This high-throughput calcium imaging approach facilitates longitudinal functional characterization of large groups of neural ensembles in vivo in cortical and subcortical brain structures. This method produces high fidelity trackable cells with superior resolution quality and higher spatial precision when compared with industry-standard GRIN lenses.

Conclusions

The microprism technique represents a significant improvement in throughput and resolution to functionally characterize neuronal ensemble dynamics within deep brain tissues.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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Madelyn M. Hjort, Raajaram Gowrishankar, Lucy Tian, Adam Gordon-Fennell, Vijay M. K. Namboodiri, Michael R. Bruchas, and Garret D. Stuber "Microprisms enable enhanced throughput and resolution for longitudinal tracking of neuronal ensembles in deep brain structures," Neurophotonics 11(3), 033407 (20 March 2024). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.11.3.033407

Received: 6 October 2023; Accepted: 13 February 2024; Published: 20 March 2024

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KEYWORDS

GRIN lenses

Prisms

Brain

Visualization

Skull

Neurons

Resolution enhancement technologies

Significance

Aim

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