EMPLOYMENT OF OPTICAL PROBES FOR THE IMAGING OF INTRACELLULAR CALCIUM AND ACTION POTENTIAL IN NEURONS

Currently, the reporters of intracellular calcium are the most widely used optical probes for the detection of neuronal activity. Synthetic molecules and genetically encoded proteins provide a large variety of methods available for recording of neuron-related signals of different shapes and amplitudes at several levels of neuronal studies, starting from single-cellular level and ending up with the in vivo recordings in the freely behaving animals. Here, we compare different methods of optical recording of intracellular calcium transients based on to the original data obtained with those methods. We describe the advantages and limitations of each of the commercially available and widely employed calcium-sensitive probes.

Automated summary

Currently, intracellular calcium reporters are the most widely used optical probes for detecting neuronal activity. Synthetic molecules and genetically encoded proteins offer various methods for recording neuron-related signals at different levels of neuronal studies. In this study, we compare different optical recording methods of intracellular calcium transients and discuss the advantages and limitations of commercially available calcium-sensitive probes.