Methodological Approach for Optogenetic Manipulation of Neonatal Neuronal Networks

Coordinated patterns of electrical activity are critical for the functional maturation of neuronal networks, yet their interrogation has proven difficult in the developing brain. Optogenetic manipulations strongly contributed to the mechanistic understanding of network activation in the adult brain,...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inFrontiers in cellular neuroscience Vol. 11; p. 239
Main Authors Bitzenhofer, Sebastian H, Ahlbeck, Joachim, Hanganu-Opatz, Ileana L
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Switzerland Frontiers Research Foundation 14.08.2017
Frontiers Media S.A
Subjects
development
Electroporation
Genetic engineering
hippocampus
in utero electroporation
Investigations
Laboratory animals
Light
Light effects
Mental disorders
Neonates
Neural networks
Neurodevelopmental disorders
Neurons
Neuroscience
Opsins
optogenetics
Prefrontal cortex
Questioning
Rhythms
Germany
in utero electroporation
development
hippocampus
prefrontal cortex
optogenetics
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Coordinated patterns of electrical activity are critical for the functional maturation of neuronal networks, yet their interrogation has proven difficult in the developing brain. Optogenetic manipulations strongly contributed to the mechanistic understanding of network activation in the adult brain, but difficulties to specifically and reliably express opsins at neonatal age hampered similar interrogation of developing circuits. Here, we introduce a protocol that enables to control the activity of specific neuronal populations by light, starting from early postnatal development. We show that brain area-, layer- and cell type-specific expression of opsins by electroporation (IUE), as exemplified for the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HP), permits the manipulation of neuronal activity and . Both individual and population responses to different patterns of light stimulation are monitored by extracellular multi-site recordings in the medial PFC of neonatal mice. The expression of opsins via IUE provides a flexible approach to disentangle the cellular mechanism underlying early rhythmic network activity, and to elucidate the role of early neuronal activity for brain maturation, as well as its contribution to neurodevelopmental disorders.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
Reviewed by: Zoltan Molnar, University of Oxford, United Kingdom; Matthew T. Colonnese, George Washington University, United States; Yasunobu Murata contributed to the review of Matthew Colonnese.
Edited by: Rustem Khazipov, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, France
ISSN:1662-5102
1662-5102
DOI:10.3389/fncel.2017.00239