Decoding circuit neural activity in peripheral nerve and cerebral cortex with Optical Coherence Tomography of structure and birefringence

导师们在一个跨学科的神经科学/工程小组工作，他们的目标是开发出在几毫秒内对周围神经和大脑皮层的回路活动进行成像的方法。在周围神经中，这种情况发生在称为“神经束”的神经隔室中。目前，由美国国立卫生研究院资助的一项研究兴趣在于控制心脏和肺部等内部器官的自主神经的成像活动，以期通过植入微芯片设备的集中电刺激来治疗癫痫、糖尿病和关节炎等疾病。这些神经束的功能尚不清楚；利用电生理学、x线微ct和电阻抗断层扫描（EIT），我们在颈部的颈迷走神经中发现了神经束，这些神经束支配着喉、心、肺和消化系统。我们正在与哈佛大学/麻省总医院的一个小组合作，他们开发了光学相干断层扫描（OCT），通过高分辨率的结构成像来追踪神经束和它们提供的器官之间的联系。这个项目将利用OCT和其他技术来识别功能连接。我们还将扩展OCT以成像活动期间的光学双折射变化。最初的研究将在麻醉猪和人的颈迷走神经上进行。这将扩展到大脑成像和解码在神经或癫痫发作期间的生理和病理活动的成像功能活动。如果成功，这将提供一种突破性的新技术，可以在几毫秒内将神经活动成像到细胞水平的分辨率为10。

The supervisors work in an interdisciplinary neuroscience/engineering group whosegoal is to develop methods to image circuit activity over milliseconds in the peripheralnerve and cerebral cortex. In the peripheral nerve, this occurs in compartments withinthe nerve termed "fascicles". A current interest, funded by the National Institute ofHealth, USA, lies in imaging activity in autonomic nerves which control internal organssuch as the heart and lungs, with a view to treating diseases such as epilepsy,diabetes and arthritis by focused electrical stimulation from implanted microchipdevices. The function of such fascicles is not yet known; using electrophysiology, X-raymicroCT and Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT), we have identified fascicles inthe cervical vagus nerve in the neck which supply the larynx, heart, lungs anddigestive system. We are collaborating with a group at Harvard/MGH who havedeveloped Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) to trace connections betweenfascicles and the organs they supply by high-resolution imaging of structure. Thisproject will be to utilize OCT with the other techniques to identify functionalconnections. We will also extend OCT to image optical birefringence changes duringactivity. Initial studies will be on the cervical vagus nerve in the anaesthetised pig andhumans. This will be extended to imaging in the brain and decoding of imagedfunctional activity during physiological and pathological activity in nerve or epilepticseizures in the brain. If successful, this would provide a groundbreaking new techniqueable to image neural activity over milliseconds to a cellular level resolution of 10.