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Temperature-dependent Activation of Neurons by Continuous Near-infrared Laser

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Abstract

Optical control of neuronal activity has a number of advantages over electrical methods and can be conveniently applied to intact individual neurons in vivo. In this study, we demonstrated an experimental approach in which a focused continuous near-infrared (CNI) laser beam was used to activate single rat hippocampal neurons by transiently elevating the local temperature. Reversible changes in the amplitude and kinetics of neuronal voltage-gated Na and K channel currents were recorded following irradiation with a single-mode 980 nm CNI-laser. Using single-channel recordings under controlled temperatures as a means of calibration, it was estimated that temperature at the neuron rose by 14°C in 500 ms. Computer simulation confirmed that small temperature changes of about 5°C were sufficient to produce significant changes in neuronal excitability. The method should be broadly applicable to studies of neuronal activity under physiological conditions, in particular studies of temperature-sensing neurons expressing thermoTRP channels.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by funding from the Chinese National Science Foundations (No. 30470416; No. 30870582) and the National “985” Project to C. Sun and from the U.S. NIH (REY016754A) and the American Heart Association (0665201Y) to J. Zheng. Part of the work was conducted in a UC Davis facility constructed with support from Research Facilities Improvement Program Grant C06-RR-12088-01 from the National Center for Research Resources.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lab of Biomedical Optics, College of Physics and Optoelectronic Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116023, People’s Republic of China

    Shanshan Liang, Cheng Zhou & Changsen Sun

  2. Department of Physiology and Membrane Biology, University of California School of Medicine, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Fan Yang & Jie Zheng

  3. Institute of Brain Disorder, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, 116044, People’s Republic of China

    Yue Wang, Shao Li & C. K. Sun

  4. Department of Pharmacology, University of California School of Medicine, Davis, CA, 95616, USA

    Jose Luis Puglisi & Donald Bers

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  1. Shanshan Liang
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  2. Fan Yang
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  3. Cheng Zhou
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  4. Yue Wang
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  5. Shao Li
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  6. C. K. Sun
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  7. Jose Luis Puglisi
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  8. Donald Bers
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  9. Changsen Sun
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  10. Jie Zheng
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Correspondence to Changsen Sun or Jie Zheng.

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Liang, S., Yang, F., Zhou, C. et al. Temperature-dependent Activation of Neurons by Continuous Near-infrared Laser. Cell Biochem Biophys 53, 33–42 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-008-9035-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12013-008-9035-2

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