Recording the neuro-vascular activity in the central nervous system with intrinsic optical imaging

这项研究计划的重点是利用固有的光学成像技术记录大鼠腰髓和大脑皮层神经血管激活的能力。本征光学成像是与Ecole Polytech的F.Lesage博士合作开发的。这项技术使我们能够同时精确地确定整个腰椎脊髓和皮质中的神经血管激活，从而使我们有可能研究不同神经元群体之间的功能和相互作用。使用锐利电极的传统体内电生理学可以精确测量神经元的电活动，但实际上不可能从脊髓中的多个神经元群体进行记录。我们试图使用多个电极的矩阵来同时记录脊髓中不同区域的数据，但这些电极穿透脊髓造成的损伤提供了令人怀疑的数据。这个光学成像项目是新颖而重要的，因为它将允许我们在不改变神经组织完整性的情况下检查腰椎脊髓和皮质中的兴奋。

The focus of this research proposal is related in the ability to record the neuro-vascular activation in the rat lumbar spinal cord and the cortex using intrinsic optical imaging techniques. The intrinsic optical imaging was developed in collaboration with Dr. F. Lesage from Ecole Polytechnique. This technology allows us to precisely determine the neuro-vascular activation in the entire lumbar spinal cord and the cortex simultaneously, giving us the possibility to study the function and the interaction between different neuronal populations. Conventional in-vivo electrophysiology using sharp electrodes allows precise measurements of neuronal electrical activity, but the possibility to record from multiple neuronal populations in the spinal cord is virtually impossible. We tried to use a matrix of multiple electrodes to record from different areas in the spinal cord simultaneously, but the trauma induced in the spinal cord by the penetration of those electrodes provided questionable data. This optical imaging project is novel and important, since it will allow us to examine the excitation in the lumbar spinal cord and the cortex without altering the integrity of the nervous tissue.