Live imaging of neural structure and function by fibred fluorescence microscopy

• DOI: 10.1038/sj.embor.7400801
• Publication Date: 2006-09-29T11:19:14Z
• Authors: Pierre Vincent; Uwe Maskos; Igor Charvet; Laurence Bourgeais; Luc Stoppini; Nathalie Leresche; Jean‐Pierre Changeux; Régis Lambert; Paolo Meda; Danièle Paupardin...
• Keywords: Neurophysiology; Peripheral Nervous System

Only a few methods permit researchers to study selected regions of the central and peripheral nervous systems with a spatial and time resolution sufficient to image the function of neural structures. Usually, these methods cannot analyse deep‐brain regions and a high‐resolution method, which could repeatedly probe dynamic processes in any region of the central and peripheral nervous systems, is much needed. Here, we show that fibred fluorescence microscopy—which uses a small‐diameter fibre‐optic probe to provide real‐time images—has the spatial resolution to image various neural structures in the living animal, the consistency needed for a sequential, quantitative evaluation of axonal degeneration/regeneration of a peripheral nerve, and the sensitivity to detect calcium transients on a sub‐second timescale. These unique features should prove useful in many physiological studies requiring the in situ functional imaging of tissues in a living animal.