Brain researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have been awarded a $4 million grant for the miniscope they developed to better observe brain activity in animals. It was granted by NIH Brain Initiative to develop next-generation versions of their “miniscope.”, which will support the design, manufacturing, and distribution of two types of new two-photon miniscopes.

Figure 1: The miniscope developed to better observe brain activity in animals.

Figure 1 shows thatthe miniscope, which is about 1 (2,54 cm) inch tall and weighs less than 4 grams, can capture neuronal activity by sitting on a baseplate placed over an animal’s head. The data, which are sent via a thin wire to a computer for analysis, allow for better observation of brain activity. [1]

“These are very important tools that can be transformative for any neuroscience question that requires looking at the activity of large populations of brain cells in freely behaving animals,” said Dr. Peyman Golshani.

The UCLA researchers’ miniscope has been used in over 500 labs worldwide since the device was created and shared with other researchers about a decade ago. The open-source nature of their miniscope “basically democratized” access to miniature microscopes, Golshani said, noting that similar devices were once sold by private companies for about a hundred times more than the cost of their model, whose mostly off-the-shelf materials total about $1,000 to $2,000.

The miniscope, which is about an inch tall and weighs less than 4 grams, snaps into a baseplate implanted on top of an animal’s head, capturing neuronal activity. The data is then sent by a thin wire to a computer for analysis. [2]

With this miniscope, researchers can study neuronal activity in healthy animals and in animals with neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's disease to potentially understand which cell types are malfunctioning and how they may be repaired.

With the NIH grant, the team will be able to produce much higher-resolution images than before and thus enable them to see the fine structure of connections in the brain, rather than just the cell bodies. One miniscope will be light enough so a mouse can wear it and have a larger field of view than any similar microscope; the other will be worn by a rat and image thousands of brain cells simultaneously.

The NIH previously awarded this same study team $3.7 million to design earlier versions of the miniscope. [3]

References:

1. https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/a-new-miniature-microscope-will-help-observe-neuronal-activity-in-animals
2. https://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/grant-to-supercharge-miniature-microscope
3. https://www.scienceboard.net/index.aspx?sec=ser&sub=def&pag=dis&ItemID=4573

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), Next Generation Versions of Miniscope to Observe Brain Activity, AnaTechMaz, pp.81