Identification of State-Dependent Encoding of Innate Rewards by Deep-Brain Single-Cell Imaging in Freely Behaving Mice
摘要
Physiological states such as hunger or thirst, as well as reproductive states, shape reward-seeking behavior. To understand the state-dependent neural regulation of behavior, we need to relate the activity of individual, neurochemically defined neurons to the spontaneous, unrestricted innate behavior of an animal during and across different states. Recent technical advancements allow the endoscopic single-cell imaging of deep-brain regions in freely moving animals using miniaturized widefield microscopes. Here, we focus on the implementation of single-cell microendoscopic calcium imaging in deep hypothalamic regions of freely behaving mice of both sexes in different physiological states.