UC Riverside

Current methods for investigating activity in neurons largely rely on different varieties of electrodes, which require direct or very close contact, or fluorescence-based techniques, which require chemical or genetic introduction of a voltage- or calcium-sensitive fluorophore. The primary motivation for this work was to develop an intensity (non-phase) based extension of optical coherence tomography (OCT), an optical technology capable of rapid imaging of subsurface tissue structure with micrometer resolution without the need for exogenous contrast agents, for in vitro detection of neural activity. First, a preliminary study of epileptiform activity in murine hippocampal brain slices was used as an assessment of OCT for in vitro detection of neural activity. Elevated potassium was used to induce seizure-like bursts of activity. Decreases in OCT light intensity were found to be correlated with the initial onset of large-scale activation using simultaneous electrophysiological detection with a multi-electrode array. These results motivated the development of a novel spatiotemporally co-registered OCT and fluorescence microscopy (FM) system capable of observing neural activity simultaneously with both modalities. The combined system was designed to provide sequential OCT volumetric imaging over an extended depth range with fluorescence imaging through a common objective. This allows for the results of analytical methods developed to endogenously detect neural activity based on OCT intensity to be correlated with changes in fluorescence. Finally, the system was used to observe neural circuitry in the brain of Drosophila pupae. The fluorescence response of GCaMP-3 labeled bursicon and kinin cells in response to presentation of ecdysis triggering hormone (ETH) is well-characterized. Time sequences of OCT volumetric data acquired over these neurons in in vitro adolescent Drosophila brain in response to presentation of ETH were analyzed and compared to simultaneously recorded fluorescence data. Changes in the backscattered OCT intensity in both cell types were found to correlate well with neural activity as identified by fluorescence. These results demonstrate the potential of OCT for in vitro detection of neural activity without the need for fluorescence contrast.