AUTHOR=Patel Amisha A. , McAlinden Niall , Mathieson Keith , Sakata Shuzo
TITLE=Simultaneous Electrophysiology and Fiber Photometry in Freely Behaving Mice
JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroscience
VOLUME=14
YEAR=2020
URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnins.2020.00148
DOI=10.3389/fnins.2020.00148
ISSN=1662-453X
ABSTRACT=
In vivo electrophysiology is the gold standard technique used to investigate sub-second neural dynamics in freely behaving animals. However, monitoring cell-type-specific population activity is not a trivial task. Over the last decade, fiber photometry based on genetically encoded calcium indicators (GECIs) has been widely adopted as a versatile tool to monitor cell-type-specific population activity in vivo. However, this approach suffers from low temporal resolution. Here, we combine these two approaches to monitor both sub-second field potentials and cell-type-specific population activity in freely behaving mice. By developing an economical custom-made system and constructing a hybrid implant of an electrode and a fiber optic cannula, we simultaneously monitor artifact-free mesopontine field potentials and calcium transients in cholinergic neurons across the sleep-wake cycle. We find that mesopontine cholinergic activity co-occurs with sub-second pontine waves, called P-waves, during rapid eye movement sleep. Given the simplicity of our approach, simultaneous electrophysiological recording and cell-type-specific imaging provides a novel and valuable tool for interrogating state-dependent neural circuit dynamics in vivo.