WASCO – WAve front Shaping for Circuit Optogenetics

The objective of the 2P-HOLO (or WASCO) project is to set up a compact user-friendly system for in vitro and in vivo large-scale, spatiotemporally precise optical manipulation of neuronal circuits. The system will combine two-photon imaging with patterned two-photon photostimulation. The latter will be achieved by a combination of wave front shaping approaches for multiplexed temporally focused light shaping developed in the past years by the Emiliani Lab.

The system 2P-HOLO will achieve an optically addressable volume > 0.5mm3, while retaining single cell resolution, submillisecond temporal control of custom activity patterns of large neuronal populations, simultaneous stimulation of > 50 neurons per frame at up to 1kHz frame rate and simultaneous multiphoton imaging. The performances of the 2P-HOLO microscope will be validated on 5 applicative projects using optically and physiologically different systems: retina, Drosophila larvae, mammalian cortex and brainstem respiratory circuits. The technology has been and will be transferred to the industrial partner 3i.