Data from: All-optical recording and stimulation of retinal neurons in vivo in retinal degeneration mice

Here we demonstrate the application of a method that could accelerate the
development of novel therapies by allowing direct and repeatable
visualization of cellular function in the living eye, to study loss of
vision in animal models of retinal disease, as well as evaluate the time
course of retinal function following therapeutic intervention. We use
high-resolution adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscopy to image
fluorescence from the calcium sensor GCaMP6s. In mice with photoreceptor
degeneration (rd10), we measured restored visual responses in ganglion
cell layer neurons expressing the red-shifted channelrhodopsin ChrimsonR
over a six-week period following significant loss of visual responses.
Combining a fluorescent calcium sensor, a channelrhodopsin, and adaptive
optics enables all-optical stimulation and recording of retinal neurons in
the living eye. Because the retina is an accessible portal to the central
nervous system, our method also provides a novel non-invasive method of
dissecting neuronal processing in the brain.