Multiplex translaminar imaging in the spinal cord of behaving mice.
Pavel ShekhtmeysterErin M CareyDaniela DuarteAlexander NgoGrace GaoNicholas A NelsonCharles L ClarkAxel NimmerjahnPublished in: Nature communications (2023)
While the spinal cord is known to play critical roles in sensorimotor processing, including pain-related signaling, corresponding activity patterns in genetically defined cell types across spinal laminae have remained challenging to investigate. Calcium imaging has enabled cellular activity measurements in behaving rodents but is currently limited to superficial regions. Here, using chronically implanted microprisms, we imaged sensory and motor-evoked activity in regions and at speeds inaccessible by other high-resolution imaging techniques. To enable translaminar imaging in freely behaving animals through implanted microprisms, we additionally developed wearable microscopes with custom-compound microlenses. This system addresses multiple challenges of previous wearable microscopes, including their limited working distance, resolution, contrast, and achromatic range. Using this system, we show that dorsal horn astrocytes in behaving mice show sensorimotor program-dependent and lamina-specific calcium excitation. Additionally, we show that tachykinin precursor 1 (Tac1)-expressing neurons exhibit translaminar activity to acute mechanical pain but not locomotion.
Keyphrases
- spinal cord
- high resolution
- neuropathic pain
- spinal cord injury
- chronic pain
- pain management
- mass spectrometry
- liver failure
- stem cells
- functional connectivity
- high fat diet induced
- metabolic syndrome
- quality improvement
- adipose tissue
- heart rate
- blood pressure
- cell therapy
- intensive care unit
- quantum dots
- drug induced
- tandem mass spectrometry