Neurobot » Visualizing Large-Scale Patterns of Activity in the Brain: Optical and Electrical Signals

The following Short Courses were held at SfN’s (The Society for Neuroscience) 34th Annual Meeting in San Diego in October, 2004.

How does the brain orchestrate perceptions, thoughts, and actions from the electrical and biochemical dynamics of its neurons? Brain organization exhibits distinct patterns at several levels of scale, ranging from the synapses, to local circuits, and to interacting systems. Addressing these challenging issues requires methods with sufficiently high temporal and spatial resolution of neuronal activity in both local and global networks. The course faculty will cover three novel methods: massive parallel recording and isolation of single units with electrophysiological techniques, intrinsic and voltage-sensitive dye imaging of network behavior, and 2-photon laser scanning microscopic methods for both large-scale recordings and high resolution monitoring of surface domains of single cells. You will be introduced to some of the latest tools for acquiring, analyzing, and displaying multidimensional datasets from the level of spines to cytoarchitectonic divisions in both small and large brains.
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The Society for Neuroscience is a nonprofit membership organization of basic scientists and physicians who study the brain and nervous system. Neuroscience includes the study of brain development, sensation and perception, learning and memory, movement, sleep, stress, aging and neurological and psychiatric disorders. It also includes the molecules, cells and genes responsible for nervous system functioning.