Optogenetics

We present “Twinkle”: a microscope for Two-photon Imaging in Neuroscience, and Kit for Learning and Education. It is a fully open, high-performance and cost-effective research and teaching microscope without any custom parts beyond what can be fabricated in a university machine shop.

Zapit is a general purpose package for coordinating galvo-based optostimulation in head-fixed mice. It is a software and hardware solution with an emphasis on flexibility and ease of use. The software will run on a variety of hardware designs and experimental paradigms.

ArControl is a Arduino based digital signals control system. A special application for ArControl is to establish a animal behavioral platform (as Skinner box), which control devices to deliver stimulation, monitor behavioral response and record data.

This simple optogenetics stimulation driver is based on the Arduino Uno, and produces millisecond-accurate timing to control a single laser or LED. The dials allow easy control of pulse on-time and frequency, with a simple switch to turn the flashing on or off.

Open source, Python based, behavioural experiment control. pyControl is a system of open source hardware and software for controlling behavioural experiments, built around the Micropython microcontroller. pyControl makes it easy to program complex behavioural tasks using a clean, intuitive, and flexible syntax for specifying tasks as state machines.

Controlling biological processes using light has increased the accuracy and speed with which researchers can manipulate many biological processes. Optical control allows for an unprecedented ability to dissect function and holds the potential for enabling novel genetic therapies.

World Wide Series Seminar AAV are versatile tools used by neuroscientists for expression and manipulation of neurons. Many scientists have benefited from the high-quality, ready-to-use AAV prep service from Addgene, a nonprofit plasmid repository.

Two-photon (2P) microscopy is a cornerstone technique in neuroscience research. However, combining 2P imaging with spectrally arbitrary light stimulation can be challenging due to crosstalk between stimulation light and fluorescence detection.

Experiments aiming to understand sensory-motor systems, cognition and behavior necessitate training animals to perform complex tasks. Traditional training protocols require lab personnel to move the animals between home cages and training chambers, to start and end training sessions, and in some cases, to hand-control each training trial.

Single cell electrophysiology remains one of the most widely used approaches of systems neuroscience. Decisions made by the experimenter during electrophysiology recording largely determine recording quality, duration of the project and value of the collected data.