Optical Insights Into Cerebellar Circuitry

It is commonly accepted that a deeper understanding of how neural networks function will depend on the ability to monitor brain activity with high temporal and spatial resolution. The need for such monitoring systems led in the early seventies to the development of optical imaging techniques using voltage-sensitive dyes (Ross et al. 1974). The technique is based on the detection of light emitted from special dye molecules that bind to membranes and fluoresce proportionally to the membrane potential. In its current state the method is particularly suitable for monitoring synchronized activity in large neuron populations as demonstrated here in the cerebellar cortex.