The dynamics of the ongoing spontaneous neuronal activity in zebrafish larvae

SEBASTIAN A. ROMANO; THOMAS PIETRI; VERONICA PEREZ SCHUSTER; GERMAN SUMBRE

Lyon

Congreso; 11e Colloque de la Société des Neurosciences; 2013

Société des Neurosciences Francaise

In a state of sensory deprivation, sensory brain areas remain active. Once interpreted as irrelevant random noise, these activities have been found to exhibit coarse spatiotemporal structures, however, the biological significance of this ongoing neuronal activity still remains elusive [1]. To further understand the biological meaning of the ongoing spontaneous activity structure, we are currently monitoring brain activities of head-restrained zebrafish larvae, using two-photon imaging of genetically encoded calcium indicators (GCaMP3). This method allows recording the dynamics of large neuronal circuits, with single-cell resolution, from several brain areas of an intact behaving vertebrate. We are applying dimensionality reduction techniques and clustering analysis to describe circuit dynamics. Our results demonstrate that the optic tectum, a brain region homologous to the mammalian superior colliculus and the largest visual center of the zebrafish, presents an ongoing spontaneous activity with a precise spatiotemporal structure resembling a functional retinotopic organization.