Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, Frankfurt, Germany.
International Max Planck Research School for Neural Circuits, Frankfurt, Germany.
Nat Commun. 2023 Feb 2;14(1):577. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-36217-5.
The common marmoset has emerged as a key model in neuroscience. Marmosets are small in size, show great potential for genetic modification and exhibit complex behaviors. Thus, it is necessary to develop technology that enables monitoring and manipulation of the underlying neural circuits. Here, we describe a novel approach to record and optogenetically manipulate neural activity in awake, behaving marmosets. Our design utilizes a light-weight, 3D printed titanium chamber that can house several high-density silicon probes for semi-chronic recordings, while enabling simultaneous optogenetic stimulation. We demonstrate the application of our method in male marmosets by recording multi- and single-unit data from areas V1 and V6 with 192 channels simultaneously, and show that optogenetic activation of excitatory neurons in area V6 can influence behavior in a detection task. This method may enable future studies to investigate the neural basis of perception and behavior in the marmoset.
普通狨猴已成为神经科学的重要模型。狨猴体型较小，具有很大的遗传修饰潜力，并表现出复杂的行为。因此，有必要开发能够监测和操作潜在神经回路的技术。在这里，我们描述了一种在清醒、行为正常的狨猴中记录和光遗传学操作神经活动的新方法。我们的设计利用了一个重量轻、3D 打印的钛室，可以容纳几个高密度硅探针进行半慢性记录，同时实现同时光遗传学刺激。我们通过同时使用 192 个通道从 V1 和 V6 区域记录多单位和单单位数据，展示了我们的方法在雄性狨猴中的应用，并表明 V6 区域兴奋神经元的光遗传学激活可以影响检测任务中的行为。这种方法可能使未来的研究能够在狨猴中研究感知和行为的神经基础。
