Dr. François St-Pierre, Associate Professor, Baylor College of Medicine

Evolving Protein-Based Fluorescent Indicators to Record Neuronal Voltage Dynamics

Invited by Dr. Marie-Eve Paquet

July 7 at 11:00 AM, CERVO Research Center, Room F-1455

RESEARCH INTERESTS

A longstanding goal in neuroscience is understanding how spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal electrical activity underlie
brain function, from sensory representations to decision-making. An emerging technology for monitoring electrical dynamics
is voltage imaging using Genetically Encoded Voltage Indicators (GEVIs) — light-emitting protein indicators whose brightness is
modulated by voltage. GEVIs are promising tools for monitoring voltage dynamics at high spatiotemporal resolution in
genetically defined cell types. However, previous GEVIs enabled a narrow range of applications in vivo due to poor
performance under two-photon microscopy, a method of choice for deep-tissue recording. Using structural insights and novel
high-throughput screening platforms, we engineered novel indicators that are faster, brighter, and more sensitive and
photostable than their predecessors. These new GEVIs enable the noninvasive recording of rapid voltage transients for
extended durations and in deep cortical layers in awake behaving mice. We anticipate that our sensors will encourage
neuroscientists —including those more familiar with calcium imaging— to exploit the unique advantages of voltage optical
recording to decipher neuronal computations with millisecond-timescale resolution and cell type specificity.