Miniature fluorescent microscope: History, application, and data processing

Modem methods of fluorescence microscopy allow recording ihe activity of neurons in vivo, but their use has a number of serious limitations, specifically: The need of fixation an experimental animal. low scanning speed, complexity and high application cost. Most of these problems were solved after the appearancc ofsinglc-photon miniature fluorescent microscopes (miniscopes), due to their small size, good resolution and the possibility of brain imaging in freely moving animals. This review examines variations and components of miniscopcs, as well as discusses the ability of visualizing neuronal activity in vivo. Special attention is paid to the methods of processing data of neuronal activity in vivo: Frames filtering from noise, compensation of shifts and distortions of the image. The methods of image processing of active neurons and interaction analysis of correlating neurons during an experimental series using the custom plugin are also described.