Institute of Neuroscience Faculty

Simultaneous recording of neuronal activity and behavior

Genetically encoded optical probes of neuronal activity offer the prospect of simultaneous recordings of neuronal activity and behavior in intact animals. A central problem in simultaneous imaging is that the field of view of the high power objective required for imaging the neuron is often too narrow to allow the experimenter to assess the behavioral state of the preparation. This movie illustrates a method that solves this problem using a microscope with two objectives focused on the preparation: a high power lens dedicated to imaging the neuron and low power lens dedicated to imaging the behavior. Images of neuronal activity (detected by calcium signals) and behavior are acquired simultaneously but separately using different wavelengths of light. The behavior and calcium data streams are synchronized; the red cursor indicates the location of the current video frame on the calcium trace.

• Department of Biology
• Department of Psychology
• Department of Human Physiology