Hosted by the Circuit Neuroscience research group (CNS)
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Imaging large-scale circuit dynamics is crucial to understanding brain function, but most techniques have a limited depth of field. Here, we describe volumetric functional ultrasound imaging (vfUSI), a platform for brain-wide vfUSI of hemodynamic activity in awake head-fixed rodents. We combined a high-frequency 1,024-channel 2D-array transducer with advanced multiplexing and high-performance computing for real-time 3D power Doppler imaging at a high spatiotemporal resolution (220 × 280 × 175 μm3, up to 6 Hz). We developed a standardized pipeline for animal preparation, data acquisition, and analysis, including registration, segmentation, and temporal analysis in 268 individual brain regions based on the Allen Mouse Common Coordinate Framework suited for longitudinal imaging and inter-subject comparison (Brunner, Grillet et al., Nature Protocols, 2021). We demonstrated the high sensitivity of vfUSI under multiple experimental conditions (whisker/visual stimuli), and we successfully imaged evoked activity with only a few trials. We also mapped neural circuits across the whole brain during optogenetic activation of specific cell types. Moreover, we identified the sequential activation of sensory-motor networks during a grasping water-droplet task (Brunner, Grillet et al., Neuron, 2020). Our team shows the advantages of fUSI for mapping large-scale brain activity in various applications, including the understanding of circuits involved in innate behaviors, central pain processing, sleep deprivation and stroke.