Advanced optical imaging techniques for neurodevelopment

- We describe recent advances in optical imaging of neurodevelopment.
- Advances in multiphoton microscopy provide increased imaging depth and speed for investigation of neuronal activity in 3D.
- Super-resolution imaging offers resolution down to tens of nm, revealing fine structures in the nervous system.
- Light sheet microscopy permits long-term, in toto observation of embryogenesis.
- Intrinsic contrast imaging allows direct visualization of neuroanatomy.

Over the past decade, developmental neuroscience has been transformed by the widespread application of confocal and two-photon fluorescence microscopy. Even greater progress is imminent, as recent innovations in microscopy now enable imaging with increased depth, speed, and spatial resolution; reduced phototoxicity; and in some cases without external fluorescent probes. We discuss these new techniques and emphasize their dramatic impact on neurobiology, including the ability to image neurons at depths exceeding 1 mm, to observe neurodevelopment noninvasively throughout embryogenesis, and to visualize neuronal processes or structures that were previously too small or too difficult to target with conventional microscopy.