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In vivo imaging of neural activity

Nature Methods volume 14, pages 349–359 (2017)Cite this article

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An Erratum to this article was published on 29 June 2017

A Corrigendum to this article was published on 29 June 2017

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Abstract

Since the introduction of calcium imaging to monitor neuronal activity with single-cell resolution, optical imaging methods have revolutionized neuroscience by enabling systematic recordings of neuronal circuits in living animals. The plethora of methods for functional neural imaging can be daunting to the nonexpert to navigate. Here we review advanced microscopy techniques for in vivo functional imaging and offer guidelines for which technologies are best suited for particular applications.

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Figure 1
Figure 2: Wide-field imaging.
Figure 3: Two-photon microscopy.
Figure 4: Multiplexing two-photon microscopy.
Figure 5: Deep brain imaging.
Figure 6: Imaging freely behaving animals.

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Change history

  • 21 June 2017

    In the version of this article initially published, the formula for rz_confocal in Box 1 incorrectly had a coefficient of 0.4. The correct coefficient is 1.4. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

  • 21 June 2017

    In the version of this article initially published, reference 76 was incorrectly classified as direct wavefront sensing. It should be classified as indirect wavefront sensing. The error has been corrected in the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank D. Peterka and other members of R.Y.'s lab for fruitful discussions. W.Y. holds a Career Award at the Scientific Interface from Burroughs Wellcome Fund. Our work is supported by the National Eye Institute (NEI) under grants number DP1EY024503, R01EY011787 (R.Y.); National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under grants numbers R01MH101218, R01MH100561 (R.Y.) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) under contracts number N66001-15-C-4032 (SIMPLEX) (R.Y.) and HR0011-17-C-0026 (R.Y.). This material is based upon work supported by, or in part by, the US Army Research Laboratory and the US Army Research Office under contract number W911NF-12-1-0594 (MURI) (R.Y.).

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  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Neurotechnology Center, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

    Weijian Yang & Rafael Yuste

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Yang, W., Yuste, R. In vivo imaging of neural activity. Nat Methods 14, 349–359 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmeth.4230

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