Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in mouse brain, paired with spatially and temporally defined manipulations, offers a powerful tool to causally explain the effect of specific neuronal activity on brain network dynamics. Here, we present an optimized protocol to measure cell-type-specific contributions to changes in whole-brain dynamics in mice using optogenetics (opto)-fMRI. This protocol details the injection of ChR2-expressing AAV, the implantation of optical fiber, the steps to perform opto-BOLD (blood-oxygenation-level-dependent) fMRI recording, and data analysis. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Grimm et al. (2021).
Olaf Blanke, Fosco Bernasconi, Nathan Quentin Faivre, Michael Eric Anthony Pereira
Dimitri Nestor Alice Van De Ville, Ayberk Ozkirli, Elvira Pirondini
Kamil Sedlák, Davide Uglietti, Christoph Müller