Live tissue imaging platform with enhanced confocal detection and full nonlinear excitation possibilities

Apart from neurons, the brain and peripheral nerve tissue contains a large number of glial cells. Many biological are controlled by these neuro-glia circuits, which receive and integrate different input signals from the periphery. Not only the correct neuronal wiring and connections are important for proper function, but the glial cells also contribute largely to fine tune the network. Only the best microscopy tools are capable of visualizing these small connections between different cells in living tissues. Using genetic tools to express molecules that allow us to optically activate specific cells (optogenetics), we are able to study the connectivity in depth. The imaging system applied for in this Hercules grant, will use far red laser light to be able to image deep into intact tissue as well as the best optical detection to see small structures in detail. The infrastructure will enable a large set of scientists to address neuroglia connectivity in health but also in a number of mouse models for gastrointestinal or neurological diseases like schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease.