Cranial Mountable Fluorescence Microscope System with Electronically Focusable Lens for Use on Free Ranging Test Animals

The purpose of this order is to procure a mountable fluoresence microscope system with an electronically focusable lens for use on a free ranging test animal. The Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory (UNAM) is using state-of-the-art technology to break new ground on the question of how the brain processes information about stress to guide behavior. To fulfill its mission and continue advancing biomedical research at NIMH the UNAM seeks to integrate new technology that allows scientists to monitor the activity of individual neurons in freely behaving rodents. The observations of neural circuitry in freely moving animals like mice or rats require a wearable fluorescence microscope attached to imaging cannulas chronically implanted in the animal's brain. To meet requirement, it has been determined that there is a critical need for the hardware provided by Doric Lenses. The Unit on the Neurobiology of Affective Memory (UNAM) currently employs fiber photometry to image the collective activity of a large population of neurons in the rodent thalamus. A major limitation of this approach is that it doesn't allow to distinguish the activity of individual neurons. This is particularly problematic when neuronal responses are not correlated with one another but are rather heterogenous. To solve this problem, we seek to incorporate imaging technology that allows to optically resolve the activity of individual neurons in a freely-behaving animal. Currently there are two commercial options that meet this general criterion. However, only one of these two commercially available systems offer electronically adjustable focus of the imaging lens (Doric Lenses). Importantly, this is a turnkey system that will allow for easy setup, thereby boosting productivity.