MIT engineers have invented a new microscope that can image electrical activity in neurons distributed across the brain of an entire organism, the experimental model Danio rerio (zebrafish). Using a microscope that they adapted for fast, high-volumetric rate imaging, the researchers were able to track electrical activity across the brain on the scale of milliseconds. This method revealed patterns of neural activity from neurons throughout the brain that were activated in response to ultraviolet light.
// example code: omitted for brevityThe researchers now hope to increase the percentage of neurons that they can image across the brain, as well as the microscope’s speed and resolution. They are also working on expanding the use of this technique to other experimental models, including mice. This approach, they say, could offer neuroscientists a new way to generate hypotheses about what happens in the brain when it engages in specific behaviors, or about how brain activity is linked to states of mind such as daydreaming. $$ \text{Neural Activity} = \alpha \times \text{Electrical Activity} + \beta \times \text{Other Factors} $$ Blogger's Review: This breakthrough is a significant advance for neuroscientists, as it can help us better understand how neural activity underlies behavior and other brain functions. In the future, this technology may be applied to other experimental models, such as mice, to further advance our understanding of the brain.