UCLA Neurology researchers develop miniature microscopes with $4 million NIH grant скачать в хорошем качестве

UCLA Neurology researchers develop miniature microscopes with $4 million NIH grant

The UCLA creators of a miniature microscope that can be mounted on the heads of lab animals to provide an invaluable view into the brain’s inner workings have received a $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop next-generation versions of their “miniscope.” The four-year award, part of the NIH’s BRAIN Initiative, will support the design, manufacturing and distribution of two types of new two-photon miniscopes that will allow scientists to peer much deeper into the brain than before. As they did with previous versions, the UCLA researchers will share detailed instructions on how others can build and operate their own devices. Researchers can use the miniscope to study neuronal activity in healthy animals, as they learn something new or engage in behaviors whose associated brain function remains a mystery. They can also study mouse models of neurological disorders — such as Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy or autism — to potentially understand which cell types are malfunctioning and how they may be repaired. Other UCLA professors working on the miniscopes include Daniel Aharoni, Tad Blair, Anne Churchland and Alcino Silva. Collaborators include Julie Bentley of the University of Rochester, Matthew Shtrahman of UC San Diego and Alipasha Vaziri of Rockefeller University. Blake Madruga, a UCLA graduate student in neuroscience, played a key role in designing, building and testing the new miniaturized microscopes.