Large-scale recordings for drug screening in neural circuit systems

Abstract

Functional multineuron calcium imaging (fMCI) is a large-scale optical technique that records the suprathreshold activity from large neuron populations. fMCI has several advantages, including: i) simultaneous recording from hundreds of neurons, ii) single-cell resolution, iii) identifiable location of neurons, and iv) detection of non-active neurons during the observation period. I review the principle and detailed method of fMCI and also describe the effect of oseltamivir on neuronal network as an example for practical application of fMCI. © 2008 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.