Home › Neuroscience › Imaging Neural Activity in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex Using Thy1-GCaMP6s Transgenic Mice
Neuroscience JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Imaging Neural Activity in the Primary Somatosensory Cortex Using Thy1-GCaMP6s Transgenic Mice

DOI: 10.3791/56297-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Prepare bilateral chronic cranial windows for long-term neural imaging in mice
  • ✓ Acquire 2-photon microscopy images of neuronal calcium dynamics in somatosensory cortex
  • ✓ Interpret representative calcium imaging and dendritic activity patterns
Protocol

We describe an experimental procedure for measuring neuronal activity through dual optical windows above bilateral primary somatosensory corticies (S1) in Thy1-GCaMP6s transgenic mice using 2-photon (2P) microscopy in vivo.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~2–3 hours per mouse (surgery + imaging session); window preparation requires 1–2 weeks prior to imaging for stabilization
Model organism
Mouse Thy1-GCaMP6s transgenic

Steps

1
Prepare bilateral chronic cranial windows above S1

Surgical preparation of dual optical windows over primary somatosensory cortices to enable long-term 2-photon microscopy access. Includes anesthesia, skull exposure, window implantation, and sealing.

▶ 00:53
2
Perform two-photon microscopy imaging

Image neuronal calcium dynamics through the chronic cranial windows using 2-photon microscopy to record GCaMP6s fluorescence from layer neurons in primary somatosensory cortex.

▶ 04:11
3
Analyze representative calcium and dendritic imaging

Examine and interpret acquired 2-photon image stacks showing calcium transients and dendritic structure to validate neuronal activity measurements.

▶ 04:55
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