Miniscope-LFOV: A large field of view, single cell resolution, miniature microscope for wired and wire-free imaging of neural dynamics in freely behaving animals

Guo, C.; Blair, G. J.; Sehgal, M.; Sangiuliano Jimka, F. N.; Bellafard, A.; Silva, A. J.; Golshani, P.; Basso, M. A.; Blair, H. T.; Aharoni, D.

doi:10.1101/2021.11.21.469394

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.11.21.469394

Miniscope-LFOV: A large field of view, single cell resolution, miniature microscope for wired and wire-free imaging of neural dynamics in freely behaving animals

Guo, C.·Blair, G. J.·Sehgal, M.·Sangiuliano Jimka, F. N.·Bellafard, A.·Silva, A. J.·Golshani, P.·Basso, M. A.·Blair, H. T.·Aharoni, D.

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Abstract

Imaging large-population, single-cell fluorescent dynamics in freely behaving animals larger than mice remains a key endeavor of neuroscience. We present a large field of view open-source miniature microscope (MiniLFOV) designed for large-scale (3.6 x 2.7 mm), single cell resolution neural imaging in freely behaving rats. It has an electrically adjustable working distance of up to 3.5 mm{+/-}100 m, incorporates an absolute head-orientation sensor, and weighs only 13.9 grams. The MiniLFOV is capable of both deep brain and cortical imaging and has been validated in freely behaving rats by simultaneously imaging >1000 GCaMP7s expressing neurons in the hippocampal CA1 layer and in head-fixed mice by simultaneously imaging ~2000 neurons in the dorsal cortex through a cranial window. The MiniLFOV also supports optional wire-free operation using a novel, wire-free data acquisition expansion board. We expect this new open-source implementation of the UCLA Miniscope platform will enable researchers to address novel hypotheses concerning brain function in freely behaving animals.

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Guo, C., Blair, G. J., Sehgal, M., Sangiuliano Jimka, F. N., Bellafard, A., Silva, A. J., Golshani, P., Basso, M. A., Blair, H. T., Aharoni, D.. 2021-11-22. Miniscope-LFOV: A large field of view, single cell resolution, miniature microscope for wired and wire-free imaging of neural dynamics in freely behaving animals. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.21.469394

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