The Lion of El Español Publicaciones SAMiniscope, small microscope for neurological studies University of California (UCLA) OmicronoThe brain will hide fewer secrets thanks to the revolution that these small microscopes the size of a coin, which can be manufactured at home in laboratories, are causing among neuroscientists.Miniscopes facilitate the study of diseases such as epilepsy or Alzheimer's, which in Spain affects more than 700,000 people.[So you can detect Alzheimer's early thanks to the camera of your mobile]"Despite many advances in neuroscience in recent years, the underlying causes of most neurological and psychiatric conditions remain largely unknown."To correct this delay that prevents the development of effective treatments and prevent disorders such as Parkinson's, autism, epilepsy, schizophrenia or Alzheimer's, the NIH Brain Initiative project considers it necessary to start by creating new tools to study the complex functioning of the brain .This initiative has received a grant of 4 million dollars to develop more modern versions of the miniscope (in English), a small device created a decade ago by the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA).Miniscopes, with models just 22mm tall and weighing 2.6 grams, have offered greater freedom to study the brain of healthy or diseased rodents and have facilitated numerous studies over the years."Their open source nature basically democratized access to miniature microscopes," explains Dr. Peyman Golshani, professor of neurology at UCLA and principal investigator on the project.With this new injection of capital, the aim is to implement the design and quality of the results of this small microscope, as well as the manufacture and distribution of new two-photon equipment.A little mouse sniffs around the lab with some freedom and behaves as its nature dictates.Only one detail is different in him, the 'crown' of electrical equipment records the neural activity implanted in his head.It is a tiny microscope that has made life easier for neuroscience, giving more freedom to research that was blocked by the bulky size of its observation equipment.Miniscope in a rodent The Haptic Lab OmicronoNeural activity required the use of larger and very heavy microscopes, fixed devices that forced the study to be carried out without freedom of movement, immobilizing the rodent's head.With the diffusion of this miniscope, the researchers found the possibility of implanting the equipment in the head of an animal and studying its neurons at the same time that they explored its environment, better understanding the subject's social behavior and memory.The miniscope, which is about an inch tall and weighs less than 4 grams, snaps into a base plate that has been pre-implanted on top of an animal's head.Through an endoscopic probe, the lens accesses the interior of the mouse's brain.Structure of Miniscope University of California Omicrono OmicronoFrom there, neural activity is captured.The data is then sent via cable to a computer for analysis.There are two ways to view activity inside the skull: one is by two-photon excitation through a small access to the animal's brain, while the other is by photometry.That involves inserting fiber optic cables into the brain to monitor calcium fluorescence in a specific area.The two new microscopes to be created with the recent funding will be based on the biphotonic technique and will feature a more compact design and better results.They must be able to be placed on the animals' heads and produce images with better resolution than previous versions."They will allow researchers to see the fine structure of the connections in the brain, rather than just the cell bodies," explains the university, which aims to obtain a larger field of view than any similar microscope.Representation of neurological activity in the brain.A miniscope will be light enough for a mouse to use and will have a larger field of view than any similar microscope.On the other hand, the second model will be used in a rat and will image thousands of brain cells simultaneously.The first device of these characteristics dates back to 2008, when Mark Schnitzer's team at Stanford University presented a 1.1-gram fluorescence microscope connected to an external camera via fiber optic cables.Their design and resolution improved over time and they were put up for sale to the rest of the scientific community.Early Wired Miniscope Prototypes University of California (UCLA) Omicrono OmicronoBut being an expensive piece of equipment, many research projects could not include it in their budgets.For this reason, Dr. Peyman Golshani of UCLA decided to create a more homemade and open source version, whose materials only cost between 1,000 and 2,000 dollars, to take it to more laboratories.A free website was created in which to share their advances with the rest of the neuroscientific community and so that any laboratory could build their own miniscope and modify it without requiring welding or complicated assembly.Since then, this small device has evolved, for example, in 2018 Drs. Basso and Golshani announced their intention to free the device from the use of cables.Model of a human brain Robina Weermeijer on Unsplash OmicronoMeanwhile, the device has been used in more than 500 laboratories in a wide variety of studies.They serve to understand the functioning of healthy brains in projects such as The Haptic Lab, where they work to develop mechanical models of how objects are perceived and manipulated with the hands.In 2016, it was used to understand how the brain links memories over time, according to a study published in Nature.Also in this prestigious scientific journal, another 2019 study explained how spatial coding breaks down in epilepsy, causing serious cognitive deficits.They are projects focused on analyzing one of the most important organs of the animal body and transferring this new knowledge to the treatment of the millions of people who need help.Neither walking nor running: this is the simple exercise that lengthens life the mostThese are the three best exercises to avoid losing your memory: the advice of the...Zelensky responds to Putin: Ukraine formally requests to join NATO by...Yolanda Ramos confesses that she thought that the singer Rauw Alejandro was called Rabo...Sánchez punishes 8.5 million workers who earn more than €21,000 and...Sign up for free and receive the news in your email every morningAna Boyer urgently returns to Madrid to clothe Tamara Falcó...The tense confrontation between Giorgia Meloni and...Rosalia receives an engagement ring in the middle...Images of the day: Rozalén runs against ALS with Eurocaja RuralPictures of the day: Inés Sastre causes concern about her health and everyone wants to know what's wrong with herThe iconic Hugo Boss garments in Letizia's wardrobeThis superyacht is actually a 207 meter long floating and modular luxury hotelElon Musk presents a cheap humanoid robot with which he will replace Tesla workersThis is how Morocco's new drones are: they spy for hours and drop loads with great precisionSo you can save 50% on your electricity bill: Spanish solar panels to put on the balconyThis is MV Narrative, a luxury floating city with 547 homes, 20 restaurants and 3 swimming poolsThe legendary WWII howitzer with which Taiwan could attack mainland China