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Fiber-optic implant for simultaneous fluorescence-based calcium recordings and BOLD fMRI in mice.

Schlegel, Felix; Sych, Yaroslav; Schroeter, Aileen; Stobart, Jillian; Weber, Bruno; Helmchen, Fritjof; Rudin, Markus (2018). Fiber-optic implant for simultaneous fluorescence-based calcium recordings and BOLD fMRI in mice. Nature Protocols, 13(5):840-855.

Abstract

Despite the growing popularity of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI), understanding of its underlying principles is still limited. This protocol describes a technique for simultaneous measurement of neural activity using fluorescent calcium indicators together with the corresponding hemodynamic BOLD fMRI response in the mouse brain. Our early work using small-molecule fluorophores in rats gave encouraging results but was limited to acute measurements using synthetic dyes. Our latest procedure combines fMRI with optical detection of cell-type-specific virally delivered GCaMP6, a genetically encoded calcium indicator (GECI). GCaMP6 fluorescence, which increases upon calcium binding, is collected by a chronically implanted optical fiber, allowing longitudinal studies in mice. The chronic implant, placed horizontally on the skull, has an angulated tip that reflects light into the brain and is connected via fiber optics to a remote optical setup. The technique allows access to the neocortex and does not require adaptations of commercial MRI hardware. The hybrid approach permits fiber-optic calcium recordings with simultaneous artifact-free BOLD fMRI with full brain coverage and 1-s temporal resolution using standard gradient-echo echo-planar imaging (GE-EPI) sequences. The method provides robust, cell-type-specific readouts to link neural activity to BOLD signals, as emonstrated for task-free ('resting-state') conditions and in response to hind-paw stimulation. These results highlight the power of fiber photometry combined with fMRI, which we aim to further advance in this protocol. The approach can be easily adapted to study other molecular processes using suitable fluorescent indicators.

Additional indexing

Item Type:Journal Article, refereed, original work
Communities & Collections:04 Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology
07 Faculty of Science > Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology

04 Faculty of Medicine > Institute of Biomedical Engineering
04 Faculty of Medicine > Brain Research Institute
Dewey Decimal Classification:570 Life sciences; biology
610 Medicine & health
Scopus Subject Areas:Life Sciences > General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Language:English
Date:May 2018
Deposited On:26 Apr 2018 06:58
Last Modified:17 Jun 2025 01:40
Publisher:Nature Publishing Group
ISSN:1750-2799
OA Status:Closed
Free access at:Publisher DOI. An embargo period may apply.
Publisher DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2018.003
PubMed ID:29599439

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