Applications are open now until June 1 to participate in an upcoming workshop and gain in-depth knowledge about two innovative tools for studying the brain – OpenScope and Neuropixels.
The Allen Institute for Brain Science, one of our partners in the BRAIN Initiative Alliance (BIA), launched the Allen Brain Observatory in 2016. It was the first standardized dataset of in vivo physiological activity in the mouse visual cortex, featuring representations of visually evoked calcium responses of single cells and populations. Through OpenScope, use of the Observatory is available to the entire neuroscience community. This is enabling theoretical, computational, and experimental scientists to test sophisticated hypotheses on brain function, much like how astronomers use observatories to explore the night sky.
Neuropixels probes offer an approach to record electrical activity at scale with high temporal and spatial resolution. These probes, developed as a collaboration between the Allen Institute, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus, University College London, and Imec, allow for long-term simultaneous measurements of brain activity with sub-millisecond precision at nearly 1000 recording sites.
In an upcoming workshop by the Allen Institute on September 21-23, 2022, participants will have the opportunity to tour Allen’s facilities and learn the details of OpenScope and Neuropixels methodologies. During the September workshop, participants will explore all aspects of generating high-quality physiology datasets, from surgery to behavior training to neural recordings. They will also learn how to access data from the Allen Brain Observatory and about the OpenScope program.
Applications for participating in the workshop are due June 1, 2022. The workshop is geared towards graduate students, postdocs, staff scientists, and investigators with some experience with in vivo recordings. This workshop is being supported by NIH BRAIN Dissemination Program grants (1U24NS109043 and 1U24NS113646) and the National Science Foundation.
Also! Are you a BRAIN Initiative scientist with a resource that is ready to share? Fill out the BIA’s Toolmakers Web Form to be considered for the Toolmakers’ Resources webpage and a chance to be featured in the quarterly newsletter.