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Saturday, November 18, 2017

Neurons connections

Mapping connections of single neurons using a holographic light beam
November 13, 2017

The researchers used an opsin protein called CoChR, which generates a very strong electric current in response to light, and fused it to a small protein that directs the opsin into the cell bodies of neurons and away from axons and dendrites, which extend from the neuron body, forming “somatic channelrhodopsin” (soCoChR). This new opsin enabled photostimulation of individual cells in mouse cortical brain slices with single-cell resolution and with less than 1 millisecond temporal (time) precision --- achieving connectivity mapping on intact cortical circuits without crosstalk with neurons. Regions of stimulation are highlighted by magenta circles. Scale bar: 20 micrometers. (credit: Or A. Shemesh et al./Nature Nanoscience) 
New technique triggers individual neurons for mapping precise connections in real time
Researchers at MIT and Paris Descartes University have developed a technique for precisely mapping connections of individual neurons for the first time by triggering them with holographic laser light. The technique is based on optogenetics (using light to stimulate or silence light-sensitive genetically modified protein molecules called “opsins” that are embedded in specific neurons). Current … more…
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