Open Access
22 February 2024 Fiber-based in vivo imaging: unveiling avenues for exploring mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and neuronal adaptations underlying behavior
Anna Karpova, Ahmed A. A. Aly, Endre Levente Marosi, Sanja Mikulovic
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

In recent decades, various subfields within neuroscience, spanning molecular, cellular, and systemic dimensions, have significantly advanced our understanding of the elaborate molecular and cellular mechanisms that underpin learning, memory, and adaptive behaviors. There have been notable advancements in imaging techniques, particularly in reaching superficial brain structures. This progress has led to their widespread adoption in numerous laboratories. However, essential physiological and cognitive processes, including sensory integration, emotional modulation of motivated behavior, motor regulation, learning, and memory consolidation, are intricately encoded within deeper brain structures. Hence, visualization techniques such as calcium imaging using miniscopes have gained popularity for studying brain activity in unrestrained animals. Despite its utility, miniscope technology is associated with substantial brain tissue damage caused by gradient refractive index lens implantation. Furthermore, its imaging capabilities are primarily confined to the neuronal somata level, thus constraining a comprehensive exploration of subcellular processes underlying adaptive behaviors. Consequently, the trajectory of neuroscience’s future hinges on the development of minimally invasive optical fiber-based endo-microscopes optimized for cellular, subcellular, and molecular imaging within the intricate depths of the brain. In pursuit of this goal, select research groups have invested significant efforts in advancing this technology. In this review, we present a perspective on the potential impact of this innovation on various aspects of neuroscience, enabling the functional exploration of in vivo cellular and subcellular processes that underlie synaptic plasticity and the neuronal adaptations that govern behavior.

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.
Anna Karpova, Ahmed A. A. Aly, Endre Levente Marosi, and Sanja Mikulovic "Fiber-based in vivo imaging: unveiling avenues for exploring mechanisms of synaptic plasticity and neuronal adaptations underlying behavior," Neurophotonics 11(S1), S11507 (22 February 2024). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.NPh.11.S1.S11507
Received: 31 October 2023; Accepted: 23 January 2024; Published: 22 February 2024
Advertisement
Advertisement
KEYWORDS
Brain

In vivo imaging

Neuroimaging

Animals

Calcium

Neuroscience

Biological imaging

Back to Top