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

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Abstract
Understanding how neural ensemble dynamics evolve over time is crucial for grasping the mechanisms of neural and behavioral processes. Longitudinal identification of single cells profiled during these processes using activity alone is challenging when neural activity is anticipated to change over time. To address this, optical imaging approaches, such as those capturing calcium-induced fluorescence changes, align cell morphology and field position instead of activity to consistently track cell activity over days to weeks. A prominent optical method that both visualizes and records cellular activity is fluorescence microscopy of genetically encoded voltage, neuromodulator, or calcium indicators, such as GCaMP.1 Because somatic calcium influx occurs coincident with neural action potentials,2 the rise in GCaMP fluorescence can serve as an indicator for neural activity. In addition, this fluorescence can be averaged throughout a session to capture a spatial “footprint” of the cells within the field of view (FOV).1

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