SignificanceFunctional brain imaging experiments in awake animals require meticulous monitoring of animal behavior to screen for spontaneous behavioral events. Although these events occur naturally, they can alter cell signaling and hemodynamic activity in the brain and confound functional brain imaging measurements.AimWe developed a centralized, user-friendly, and stand-alone platform that includes an animal fixation frame, compact peripheral sensors, and a portable data acquisition system. The affordable, integrated platform can benefit imaging experiments by monitoring animal behavior for motion detection and alertness levels as complementary readouts for brain activity measurements.ApproachA custom acquisition system was designed using a powerful, inexpensive microcomputer. We customized an accelerometer and miniature camera modules for efficient, real-time monitoring of animal motion detection and pupil diameter. We then tested and validated the platform’s performance with optical intrinsic signal imaging and GCaMP fluorescence calcium imaging in functional activation experiments in awake mice.ResultsThe integrated platform shows promise for detecting spontaneous motion and pupil dilation while imaging. Stimulus-induced pupil dilation was found to initiate earlier than cortical hemodynamics with a slower rise time. Compared with neuronal calcium response, stimulus-induced pupil dilation initiated later with a slower rise time.ConclusionsWe developed an integrated platform to monitor animal motion and pupil dynamics. The device can be easily coupled and synchronized with optical brain imaging systems to monitor behavior, alertness, and spontaneous motion for awake animal studies.
The Neurovascular Unit (NVU) dynamically regulates oxygen supply to satisfy neural metabolic demand. Amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation and hyperphosphorylated Tau in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) disrupt the NVU. Empirical evidence strongly indicates that physical activity (PA) reduces the rate of cognitive impairment, but the physiological mechanism(s) PA’s neuroprotective benefits remain unclear. We propose PA improves the brain parenchymal oxygenation and reduces metabolic deficits. Using the novel oxygen sensitizer, Oxyphor 2P, and 2-photon phosphorescence lifetime imaging (2P-PLIM), our results indicate that the PA shows the potential to curtail AD progression by increasing microvascular oxygenation and preserving NVU function.
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