Mapping of Brain Activity by Automated Volume Analysis of Immediate Early Genes

Nicolas Renier, Eliza L. Adams, Christoph Kirst, Zhuhao Wu, Ricardo Azevedo, Johannes Kohl, Anita E. Autry, Lolahon Kadiri, Kannan Umadevi Venkataraju, Yu Zhou, Victoria X. Wang, Cheuk Y. Tang, Olav Olsen, Catherine Dulac, Pavel Osten, Marc Tessier-Lavigne

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

478 Scopus citations

Abstract

Understanding how neural information is processed in physiological and pathological states would benefit from precise detection, localization, and quantification of the activity of all neurons across the entire brain, which has not, to date, been achieved in the mammalian brain. We introduce a pipeline for high-speed acquisition of brain activity at cellular resolution through profiling immediate early gene expression using immunostaining and light-sheet fluorescence imaging, followed by automated mapping and analysis of activity by an open-source software program we term ClearMap. We validate the pipeline first by analysis of brain regions activated in response to haloperidol. Next, we report new cortical regions downstream of whisker-evoked sensory processing during active exploration. Last, we combine activity mapping with axon tracing to uncover new brain regions differentially activated during parenting behavior. This pipeline is widely applicable to different experimental paradigms, including animal species for which transgenic activity reporters are not readily available.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1789-1802
Number of pages14
JournalCell
Volume165
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 16 2016
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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