measuriNg nEURal dynamics with label-free OpticaL multI-DomAin Recordings

Introduction

The growing societal burden of brain diseases is one of the most significant health challenges globally. To help diagnose or treat these pathologies, there is widespread agreement that a deeper understanding is needed on the origin of neural disorders linked to electrical neural activity, neuromodulator dynamics, and molecular alterations.

Current Limitations

To this aim, the combination of optical methods with genetically expressed molecular probes has enabled great advances in understanding brain mechanisms. However, the existing tools fail in capturing a comprehensive picture of multifaceted neural dynamics.

In addition, the translational applications of these techniques are hindered by the need for exogenous reporters. As a result, there is a major scientific and technological gap that obstructs the full exploitation of cutting-edge neuro technologies to relieve the impact of brain diseases in the human population.

Proposed Approach

To bridge this gap, this project proposes an innovative approach to monitor neural dynamics in the mammalian brain using label-free light-matter interactions without exogenous reporters.

To do this, I will develop a radically novel strategy harnessing the temporal and spectral dynamics of light stimuli interacting with the brain through photonic neural interfaces enhanced by integrated optical nano modulators. This approach will surpass the limitations of existing techniques in monitoring the physical complexity of neural signals.

Objectives

I will aim at three main objectives:

1. Developing label-free molecular sensing in arbitrary deep brain regions.
2. Developing label-free, multifunctional, ultrathin, all-optical probes for dissecting the local micro-circuitry.
3. Developing label-free, large-scale all-optical systems for multifunctional recordings at the global brain scale.