title: Instrumentation of a compact random-access photostimulator based on acousto-optic deflectors.
abstract: Recently developed optogenetics provides a fast, non-invasive, and efficient method for cell activation. However, it is difficult for the optical stimulators used for optogenetics to realize selective multi-site fast activation. In this paper, we developed a random-access photostimulator based on a pair of perpendicularly oriented acousto-optic deflectors. Precise laser targeting in the x-y plane was verified, and the lateral spatial resolution of laser intensity after the objective was measured as ∼1.38 μm. Photostimulaton of ChETA-expressing astrocytes induced reliable inward currents only if the laser beam was directed onto the targeted cell. In the ChR2-expresing neuron, multiple locations along two dendrites were stimulated, and spatiotemporal integration was observed in the soma with fast multi-site activation. These results demonstrated that this random-access photostimulator would be a powerful tool for selective multi-site fast activation. The compact and modular design of this photostimulator makes it easily integrated with different commercial microscopes, and thus widely popularized in many laboratories.
authors.affiliation: Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Wuhan 430074, China.
authors.forename: Yafeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Xiaohua
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.forename: Yiding
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiaohui
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Liping
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Shaoqun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zeng
mesh_terms: D000162:Acoustics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D000818:Animals; D001253:Astrocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000166:cytology; D000075402:Channelrhodopsins; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000528:radiation effects; D008027:Light; D051379:Mice; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D055620:Optical Phenomena
chemical_list: D000075402:Channelrhodopsins