Multi-plane Imaging of Neural Activity From the Mammalian Brain Using a Fast-switching Liquid Crystal Spatial Light Modulator

We report a novel two-photon fluorescence microscope based on a fast-switching liquid crystal spatial light modulator and a pair of galvo-resonant scanners for large-scale recording of neural activity from the mammalian brain. The utilized imaging technique is capable of monitoring large populations of neurons spread across different layers of the neocortex in awake and behaving mice. During each imaging session, all visual stimulus driven somatic activity could be recorded in the same behavior state. We observed heterogeneous response to different types of visual stimuli from ~ 3,300 excitatory neurons reaching from layer II/III to V of the striate cortex.