Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new method for repeatedly visualizing deep brain structures in live animals. They implant tiny glass tubes in the deep brain of anesthetized mice. After implantation the brain is not exposed to the outside environment. To examine the cells in the deep brain structures, a microendoscope is inserted into the glass guide tube with a transparent glass window at the end. This way it is possible to examine the same locations in a longitudinal setting. The researchers have so far used the new technique to look at a mouse model of glioma, where they observed glioma growth in the deep brain in tumors that were believed to be located near the brain surface. They expect their method to be applicable to studies of numerous disorders, including neurovascular, neurological, cancerous and trauma-induced conditions. The results have been published online in the journal Nature Medicine.
Link: New technique to see neurons of the deep brain for months at a time developed at Stanford…
Article abstract in Nature: Time-lapse imaging of disease progression in deep brain areas using fluorescence microendoscopy…