Data from: Calcium image analysis in the moving gut (CIAMG)

The neural control of gastrointestinal muscle relies on circuit activity whose underlying motifs remain limited by small-sample calcium imaging recordings confounded by motion artifact, paralytics, and muscle dissections. We present a sequence of resources to register images from moving preparations and identify out-of-focus events in widefield fluorescent microscopy. Our algorithm uses piecewise rigid registration with pathfinding to correct movements associated with smooth muscle contractions. We developed methods to identify loss-of-focus events and to simulate calcium activity to evaluate registration. In proof-of-concept principal component analysis, we found populations of neurons exhibit distinct activity patterns in response to distinct stimuli, insight that was not possible without the image analysis pipeline. We provide access to the source code for our algorithms and make experimental and technical recommendations to increase data quality in calcium imaging experiments. This work makes feasible large-population, robust calcium imaging recordings and permits more sophisticated network analyses and insights into neural activity patterns in the gut.