Description
- Abstract:
- Current state-of-the-art functional microscopy methods allow imaging of only the brain or spinal cord asynchronously. Yet understanding many biological processes such as the perception of noxious and innocuous stimuli, or diseases like chronic pain, likely emerge from combined dynamics in both foci, that can only be understood by their simultaneous measurement. In my dissertation work, I developed 3D printed universal brain-spinal cord implants to be used in combination with wearable miniscopes and benchtop two-photon microscopy, and specific surgical protocols required to implant them. This strategy allowed me to image neural and vascular dynamics in the brain and spinal cord of the same animals sequentially and simultaneously for up to 230 days post-implantation in the contexts of noxious and innocuous sensory behaviors. Further, in vivo fluorescent microscopy suffers from multiple limitations such as photon scattering noise, autofluorescence, photobleaching and phototoxicity. The photon scattering noise and, consequently, limited imaging depth are especially significant problems for spinal cord studies and the weight of miniature microscopes becomes a significant hurdle for imaging multiple parts of the body simultaneously. However, these issues can be mitigated via bioluminescence imaging. In pursuit of functional bioluminescent imaging in behaving animals, I demonstrated our ability to image bioluminescence in vivo using novel indicators and redesigned miniscopes (BLmini). Overall, my dissertation work presents a toolbox for imaging the brain and spinal cord in the same animal, innovations that can enable the optimal study of complex network dynamics from periphery-to-brain.
- Notes:
- Thesis (Ph. D.)--Brown University, 2022
Citation
Celinskis, Dmitrijs,
"Multi-site and Multi-modal Imaging Methods for Studying Spinal, Brain, and Vascular Dynamics"
(2022).
Biomedical Engineering Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:kfxkhpd2/
Relations
Collection:
-
Biomedical Engineering Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the Biomedical Engineering department....