- Sadahiro, Masato;
- Hendricks, William;
- Gopakumar, Karthika;
- Quintana, Daniel;
- Tasic, Bosiljka;
- Daigle, Tanya;
- Zeng, Hongkui;
- Oldenburg, Ian;
- Adesnik, Hillel;
- Bounds, Hayley;
- Gajowa, Marta
Determining which features of the neural code drive behavior requires the ability to simultaneously read out and write in neural activity patterns with high precision across many neurons. All-optical systems that combine two-photon calcium imaging and targeted photostimulation enable the activation of specific, functionally defined groups of neurons. However, these techniques are unable to test how patterns of activity across a population contribute to computation because of an inability to both read and write cell-specific firing rates. To overcome this challenge, we make two advances: first, we introduce a genetic line of mice for Cre-dependent co-expression of a calcium indicator and a potent soma-targeted microbial opsin. Second, using this line, we develop a method for read-out and write-in of precise population vectors of neural activity by calibrating the photostimulation to each cell. These advances offer a powerful and convenient platform for investigating the neural codes of computation and behavior.