title: High-speed mapping of synaptic connectivity using photostimulation in Channelrhodopsin-2 transgenic mice.
abstract: To permit rapid optical control of brain activity, we have engineered multiple lines of transgenic mice that express the light-activated cation channel Channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in subsets of neurons. Illumination of ChR2-positive neurons in brain slices produced photocurrents that generated action potentials within milliseconds and with precisely timed latencies. The number of light-evoked action potentials could be controlled by varying either the amplitude or duration of illumination. Furthermore, the frequency of light-evoked action potentials could be precisely controlled up to 30 Hz. Photostimulation also could evoke synaptic transmission between neurons, and, by scanning with a small laser light spot, we were able to map the spatial distribution of synaptic circuits connecting neurons within living cerebral cortex. We conclude that ChR2 is a genetically based photostimulation technology that permits analysis of neural circuits with high spatial and temporal resolution in transgenic mammals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peca
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boyden
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Deisseroth
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kasai
authors.forename: W C
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Augustine
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012243:Rhodopsin / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D012243:Rhodopsin