Abstract

Breathing is a continuous oscillatory activity, driven by a complex neuronal network deep in the brain. Core to this network is a group of neurons that generates the respiratory rhythm, yet we still lack fundamental understanding about how it works in an integrated and physiological condition. Recording the activity of the neurons involved using now conventional high resolution imaging techniques, such as 2-photon microscopy, is impossible due to the depth of these neurons in the brain tissue. With this project, we aim at developing a photoacoustic imaging setup, able to image non-invasively in deep soft tissue (>2 mm). We will use an integrated in situ preparation (“Working Heart-Brainstem Preparation”) that enables recordings of physiological neuronal and nervous respiratory activities, while providing a controllable set-up ideal to develop and fine tune our photoacoustic imaging approach. We will use 1-photon microendoscopic calcium imaging, the current reference system for deep brain imaging, as control experiments.