The first CNE Pilot Award has now led to the development of a prototype for a novel microscope to image neuronal activity and follow-on NIH funding, showcasing the ability of the Pilot Award program to catalyze new research in the field of neuroengineering at Georgetown.
The goal of the pilot project, led by Drs. Jian-young Wu from the Department of Neuroscience and Stefano Vicini from the Department of Pharmacology and Biophysics, was to develop a new microscope for observing neuronal activities. The brain contains billions of neurons, and one of the challenges in neuro-engineering is to record many neurons simultaneously. A technical issue the investigators aimed to address was recording neuronal activity under bright background light—akin to watching a meteor shower in a city with significant light pollution. They devised a simple way to eliminate background light, enabling them to observe more neurons, much like seeing more shooting stars when the night sky is dark in the countryside.
Preliminary results, obtained with the prototype made possible by CNE funding, are highly encouraging; approximately 300 neurons can be visualized using a single pinhole. These findings served as preliminary data in an NIH grant application, which impressed reviewers and secured funding on the first submission. These results were also presented at the 2024 SFN Annual Meeting. A manuscript is currently being prepared for publication.
Figure caption Image of the neurons identified from a single pinhole. A. The pinhole is placed onto the CA1 pyramidal cell layer. Four regions of interests (ROIs) were selected within the pinhole. B. Fluorescence intensity of the ROIs was plotted, showing calcium transients. C. The shape and size of 6 active neurons were identified in subtracted images (1-6), generated by subtracting the peak of calcium transients (marked broken lines in B) from its baseline immediately before the peak. Neurons were identified by their size, shape, location in the subtracted images, and the time of their calcium transients.