Abstract
Optical manipulation of neuronal activity has rapidly developed into the most powerful and widely used approach to study mechanisms related to neuronal connectivity over a range of scales. Since the early use of single site uncaging to map network connectivity, rapid technological development of light modulation techniques has added important new options, such as fast scanning photostimulation, massively parallel control of light stimuli, holographic uncaging, and two-photon stimulation techniques. Exciting new developments in optogenetics complement neurotransmitter uncaging techniques by providing cell-type specificity and in vivo usability, providing optical access to the neural substrates of behavior. Here we review the rapid evolution of methods for the optical manipulation of neuronal activity, emphasizing crucial recent developments.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 95 |
| Journal | Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience |
| Issue number | DECEMBER 2011 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 7 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Caged compounds
- Digital light processing
- Light-sensitive ion channels
- Optical stimulation
- Optogenetics
- Spatiotemporal activity
- Synchrony