Research teams led by Attila Losonczy from UT Southwestern Medical Centre and Balazs Rozsa from BrainVisionCenter and the HUN-REN Institute of Experimental Medicine have developed a measurement technique that enables high-speed, voltage-sensor-based, three-dimensional optical measurement of the electrical activity of neurons and their extensions even in the brains of moving, behaving animals, according to a press release from the BrainVisionCenter.

Unlike previous electrode-based methods, the new optical technology not only enables the high-spatial-precision targeting of individual cells and axons and the three-dimensional measurement of their electrical activity, but it can also record electrical activity in high quality not just for minutes, but for months at a time, the statement said.

Using this method, the researchers provided direct experimental evidence for long-debated questions in neuroscience, and proposed a new model for the cellular mechanisms of memory and learning, the press release said, adding that the paper further developed the understanding of dendrites as active processing units.

The international collaborative project was realised by combining high-level software development, innovations in electronic and optical engineering, laser physics, and modern genetic engineering, with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of significant questions in basic research from a translational perspective.

According to the announcement, these basic research findings may contribute in the long term to a more precise understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of several neurological diseases.

Studies detailing the research were published in the July issue of Science and the April issue of Neuron, a leading neuroscience journal.

Photo: Pixabay

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881.

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