McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Neuron. 2012 Oct 18;76(2):297-308. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2012.07.011. Epub 2012 Oct 17.
The ability to chronically monitor neuronal activity in the living brain is essential for understanding the organization and function of the nervous system. The genetically encoded green fluorescent protein-based calcium sensor GCaMP provides a powerful tool for detecting calcium transients in neuronal somata, processes, and synapses that are triggered by neuronal activities. Here we report the generation and characterization of transgenic mice that express improved GCaMPs in various neuronal subpopulations under the control of the Thy1 promoter. In vitro and in vivo studies show that calcium transients induced by spontaneous and stimulus-evoked neuronal activities can be readily detected at the level of individual cells and synapses in acute brain slices, as well as chronically in awake, behaving animals. These GCaMP transgenic mice allow investigation of activity patterns in defined neuronal populations in the living brain and will greatly facilitate dissecting complex structural and functional relationships of neural networks.
慢性监测活体大脑中神经元活动的能力对于理解神经系统的组织和功能至关重要。基于基因编码的绿色荧光蛋白的钙传感器 GCaMP 为检测神经元胞体、突起和突触中由神经元活动引发的钙瞬变提供了强大的工具。在这里，我们报告了转基因小鼠的产生和特性，这些小鼠在 Thy1 启动子的控制下，在各种神经元亚群中表达改良的 GCaMP。体外和体内研究表明，在急性脑切片中可以在单个细胞和突触水平上轻易地检测到由自发和刺激引发的神经元活动诱导的钙瞬变，并且在清醒、行为的动物中也可以长期检测到。这些 GCaMP 转基因小鼠允许在活体大脑中研究特定神经元群体的活动模式，并且将极大地促进对神经网络的复杂结构和功能关系的剖析。
