Simultaneous electrophysiology and fiber photometry in freely behaving mice

Patel, Amisha A. and McAlinden, Niall and Mathieson, Keith and Sakata, Shuzo (2020) Simultaneous electrophysiology and fiber photometry in freely behaving mice. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 14. 148. ISSN 1662-453X (https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2020.00148)

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Abstract

In vivo electrophysiology is the gold standard technique used to investigate sub-second neural dynamics in freely behaving animals. However, monitoring cell-type-specific population activity is not a trivial task. Over the last decade, fiber photometry based on genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) has been widely adopted as a versatile tool to monitor cell-type-specific population activity in vivo. However, this approach suffers from low temporal resolution. Here, we combine these two approaches to monitor both sub-second field potentials and cell-type-specific population activity in freely behaving mice. By developing an economical custom-made system and constructing a hybrid implant of an electrode and a fiber optic cannula, we simultaneously monitor artifact-free mesopontine field potentials and calcium transients in cholinergic neurons across the sleep-wake cycle. We find that mesopontine cholinergic activity co-occurs with sub-second pontine waves, called P-waves, during rapid eye movement sleep. Given the simplicity of our approach, simultaneous electrophysiological recording and cell-type-specific imaging provides a novel and valuable tool for interrogating state-dependent neural circuit dynamics in vivo.