Calcium imaging has been used widely to measure activity at indiv

Calcium imaging has been used widely to measure activity at individual synapses, mostly in spines (Chen et al., 2011, Denk et al., 1996, Murphy et al., 1994 and Zito et al., 2009), but also in spineless dendrites (Goldberg et al., 2003, Katona et al., 2011, Murphy et al., 1995 and Murthy et al., 2000). We found that synaptic

calcium transients can be identified and separated reliably from nonsynaptic calcium transients across the entire dendritic arborization by simultaneous patch-clamp recordings in voltage-clamp mode. We also showed that our approach reveals a purely glutamatergic Akt inhibitor population of synapses, which allowed mapping excitatory synapses without pharmacological identification, making imaging the synaptome fast and—in fact—possible.

We had also considered mapping the inhibitory synaptome by increasing the chloride reversal potential, such that GABAergic transmission would mediate inward currents, trigger local depolarization, and open voltage gated calcium channels. However, for a number of reasons, an important one being the need to separate GABAergic and glutamatergic transmission with time consuming pharmacological FDA approval PARP inhibitor means making large volume maps unfeasible, we decided to restricted our analysis here to the excitatory synaptome, i.e., glutamatergic synapses. Besides being instrumental for identifying specific spatiotemporal input patterns impinging onto the dendrites of developing neurons, we expect that our approach will also be useful for comparing synaptic function between neurons during different developmental states and of different subclasses, genetic backgrounds, or from models of neurological disorders. While the structure of individual neurons has been routinely quantified for such purposes, the “synaptic state” of neurons has not been mapped with the spatiotemporal resolution described here. For example,

we see great potential in deciphering the role of specific proteins in synaptic development and developmental plasticity. Electron transport chain Furthermore, in neurodevelopmental diseases some connections are functionally aberrant whereas others are normal (Gibson et al., 2008). To identify the specific functional aberrations imaging the synaptome may become highly beneficial. The most striking observation from our analysis of the developing “synaptome” is the strong relationship between the function of individual synapses and their location. Specifically, synapses that are located within a distance of 16 μm from each other are much more likely to be coactive than synapses that are further apart. We considered possible causes underlying coactivation of neighboring synapses. First, we tested whether individual axons might form multiple synapses at nearby positions along the dendrite.

5, p > 0 3, η2 < 0 001) There was no effect

5, p > 0.3, η2 < 0.001). There was no effect Quizartinib clinical trial of gender, age, or education on win-stay or lose-shift (all tests: F(20,661) < 3, p > 0.1). As mentioned in the introduction, probabilistic

discrimination and reversal tasks require subjects to ignore rare events in a stable environment, yet adjust their responses when the environment has changed. Therefore, we next assessed whether the SERT genotype affected response adaptation after any negative feedback, or whether this was specific to either the feedback validity or task epoch (acquisition or reversal). There was no interaction of SERT genotype with feedback validity (F(2,668) = 0.5, p = 0.6, η2 = 0.001), and SERT genotype significantly affected lose-shift whether feedback was invalid (F(2,668) = 4.8, p = 0.009, η2 = 0.014) or valid (F(2,668) = 5.3, p = 0.005, η2 = 0.016). This is not surprising, given that subjects are not aware of feedback validity. There was also no interaction of SERT genotype and task phase (F(2,668) = 1.9, p = 0.15, η2 = 0.006), and the effect of SERT genotype on Veliparib datasheet lose-shift

was significant during both the acquisition phase (F(2,668) = 6.3, p = 0.002, η2 = 0.018) and the reversal phase (F(2,668) = 3.1), p = 0.047, η2 = 0.009). A hierarchical regression analysis showed that DAT1 genotype significantly predicted the proportion of perseverative errors during the reversal phase, such that a higher ratio of 9R:10R alleles led to an increased number of perseverative errors (β = 0.084, t(671) = 2.22, p = 0.029) ( Figure 2C). This effect was specific to perseveration, as evidenced by the finding that there was no effect of DAT1 on chance errors (t(671) = 0.07, p = 0.95) ( Figure 2D), which were defined as single errors that occurred between two correct responses. Furthermore, there was an effect of DAT1 genotype on the interaction between perseveration and the choice history (rate of correct responses during acquisition; β = 0.10, t(671) = 2.72, p = 0.007) ( Figure 2E), in the absence of a main effect of choice history Resveratrol on perseverative error rate (t(671) = 0.44, p = 0.66). Again, there was no such interaction

for chance errors (t(671) = 1.5, p = 0.14). The DAT1 effects of choice history on perseveration were characterized by a dose-dependent reversal of their relationship: in 9R homozygotes perseveration increased with increasing number of correct choices during acquisition (β = −0.34, t(40) = 2.6, p = 0.013), whereas in heterozygotes there was no association (β = 0.061, t(221) = 0.89, p = 0.38), and in 10R homozygotes perseveration marginally decreased (β = −0.092, t(400) = −1.8, p = 0.069). We verified this effect against sensitivity to outliers using a robust regression, which confirmed the dose-response effects (9R9R, β = 0.062, t(40) = 2.31, p = 0.026; 9R10R, β = −0.008, t(221) = −0.61, p = 0.54; 10R10R: β = −0.024, t(400) = −2.7, p = 0.007).

, 2006) The survival rate of adult-born GCs is regulated by olfa

, 2006). The survival rate of adult-born GCs is regulated by olfactory sensory experience (Petreanu and Alvarez-Buylla, Panobinostat mouse 2002 and Rochefort et al., 2002). This in turn suggests that their selection underlies the experience-dependent reorganization of OB circuitry. Selection occurs during a critical period, with survival and death strongly influenced by sensory

experience from days 14 to 28 after cell generation (Yamaguchi and Mori, 2005). This time window corresponds to the period when adult-born GCs make synaptic contact with preexisting neurons (Carleton et al., 2003, Kelsch et al., 2008, Petreanu and Alvarez-Buylla, 2002 and Whitman and Greer, 2007), suggesting that synaptic input plays a crucial role in the selection of adult-born GCs. The synaptic plasticity underlying learning and memory is crucially regulated by the wake-sleep cycle. Sensory experience-induced neuronal activity occurs during waking states, while neuronal activity during subsequent sleep is thought to facilitate the consolidation of sensory experience Proteasome inhibitor memories and promote the concomitant reorganization of neuronal circuits (Buzsáki, 1989 and Diekelmann and Born, 2010). Given this background, we asked whether the selection of adult-born GCs occurs continuously throughout the day, or in association

with specific behavioral states. By combining behavioral analysis with immunohistochemical detection of apoptotic GCs, we found that extensive elimination of adult-born GCs occurs during the postprandial period. In addition, the extent of GC apoptosis during the postprandial period was regulated by olfactory sensory experience. From these observations we propose a two-stage model for the selection of adult-born GCs which states that sensory input during waking and active signals during the subsequent postbehavioral period may work together to direct the sensory experience-dependent

elimination or incorporation of adult-born GCs. We first investigated whether the elimination of adult-born GCs occurs during specific daily time windows in mice housed under conventional conditions with ad libitum feeding. The number of apoptotic GCs in mice at DCMP deaminase various circadian times was examined by immunohistochemical detection of activated caspase-3-expressing GCs (Yamaguchi and Mori, 2005 and Yuan et al., 2003; Figure 1D). While results showed no statistically significant difference in the average number of caspase-3-activated GCs at different time points, the wide variation in number seen across animals indicated that the control of GC elimination may involve mechanisms other than circadian rhythm. The initial clue indicating a time window for enhanced GC elimination, namely the postprandial period, came from food restriction experiments.

Four compounds (coumarin [COU], saponin [SAP], ESC, and GOS) exhi

Four compounds (coumarin [COU], saponin [SAP], ESC, and GOS) exhibited delays of >100 ms in discharge (Figure 5A). We quantified these temporal dynamics by measuring the interval between the time at which electrical contact was registered (the contact artifact) and the onset of spike discharge. Different tastants elicited responses with delays of different lengths (Figure 5B). S-a and S-b sensilla showed comparable temporal

dynamics for a given tastant. Differences among compounds in spike latency are not restricted to the labellum, but have also been noted in leg sensilla (Meunier et al., 2003). Other compounds elicited shorter delays in spike onset that differed among sensilla (Figures 5C and 5D). The length of the delay did not show a Selleckchem Buparlisib simple correlation with the magnitude of the response: e.g., I-a and S-a sensilla AG-014699 mouse yielded similar response magnitudes to BER (28 ± 3 and 27 ± 2 spikes/s, respectively; n = 24–47

sensilla of each individual type, with means for each type averaged across each class), but the delays in response differed by a factor of two (43 ± 2 and 81 ± 6 ms, respectively, n = 12–40). Taken together, these results suggest that such differences in spike onset may represent a salient feature of taste coding. We note that erratic or “bursting” responses in S-b sensilla are occasionally observed in response to GOS and strychnine (STR) (Figure 5E) as well as BER, LOB, sucrose octaacetate (SOA), and ARI. Of the S5 sensilla that responded to BER, 63% of traces exhibited a bursting pattern (n = 19). Similar bursts of action potentials were

reported for tarsal gustatory sensilla tested with high concentrations of bitter tastants (Meunier et al., 2003); we do not know whether such bursting responses contribute to taste coding. The intensity of bitter substances is a critical factor in evaluating the palatability of a food source. We examined the coding of bitter intensity, with a special interest in the sensitivity and dynamic range of neuronal responses, by systematically testing the responses of representative labellar sensilla to CAF, DEN, and LOB over a wide range of concentrations (Figure S2). All tested sensilla exhibited dose-dependent responses to each compound. In the case of most tastant-sensillum combinations the response threshold lay between 0.1 mM and 1 mM concentrations. While the limited solubility of some tastants precluded a more extensive Isotretinoin analysis, the dynamic ranges extended over at least an order of magnitude in most cases. Sugar stimuli at comparable concentrations evoke little if any response from labellar sensilla (Dahanukar et al., 2007 and Hiroi et al., 2002), illustrating the sensitivity of bitter responses. Having analyzed first the behavior driven by bitter compounds and then the cellular basis of bitter response, we next examined its molecular basis. The expression of most Gr genes has not been examined and few have been mapped to individual sensilla ( Dahanukar et al., 2007, Hiroi et al.

To understand how Brm and CBP, in conjunction with EcR-B1, activa

To understand how Brm and CBP, in conjunction with EcR-B1, activate the expression of their common target gene, sox14, we examined whether the levels of the transcriptionally active chromatin mark H3K27Ac are elevated at the sox14 region in an ecdysone-dependent manner. The expression of EcR-B1, Sox14, and Mical proteins is significantly upregulated in S2 cells upon treatment with ecdysone, similar to that seen in ddaC neurons during the larval-to-pupal transition ( Kirilly et al., 2009). We used nontreated and ecdysone-treated S2 cell extracts to perform chromatin E7080 concentration immunoprecipitation (ChIP)

assays with an anti-H3K27Ac antibody, examined the H3K27Ac levels at the sox14 locus using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) assays

with ten sox14 genomic primer sets ( Figure 7A), and subsequently normalized them against the H3K27Ac level at the internal control actin5C. Upon ecdysone treatment, the level of H3K27Ac increased more than 3-fold at the first intron of the sox14 gene (I1-3 and I1-4; Figure 7B), as compared to those in nontreated selleck screening library cells. To confirm whether ecdysone signaling facilitates the enrichment of the H3K27Ac levels at the sox14 locus, we knocked down the EcR-B1 receptor in ecdysone-treated cells using EcR-B1 dsRNA fragments ( Figure 7H) and performed ChIP assays. Although total H3K27Ac levels in EcR-B1 RNAi S2 cells remained the same ( Figure 7H), the enrichment of H3K27Ac at the sox14 locus decreased significantly, as compared to the GFP RNAi ecdysone-treated S2 cells ( Figure 7C). Hence, local enrichment of H3K27Ac at the sox14 region is drastically elevated in response to ecdysone signaling. We then investigated whether the Iodothyronine deiodinase enrichment of H3K27Ac at the sox14 locus is mediated by CBP, the major HAT for H3K27 acetylation in ddaC neurons. Indeed, upon CBP knockdown in ecdysone-treated S2 cells ( Figure 7G), H3K27Ac enrichment at

the sox14 locus was drastically reduced ( Figure 7D). Thus, CBP facilitates H3K27 acetylation at the sox14 locus in response to ecdysone, thereby activating Sox14 expression. Given that Brm, like CBP, is specifically required for activation of Sox14 expression during ddaC pruning, we next examined whether Brm-mediated chromatin remodeling promotes local enrichment of H3K27Ac at the sox14 gene region. Strikingly, the knockdown of Brm also resulted in strong reduction of H3K27Ac enrichment at the sox14 locus ( Figure 7E) without affecting overall H3K27Ac levels ( Figure 7H). The relative levels of H3K27Ac were reduced to a lesser extent in CBP RNAi S2 cells than in brm RNAi S2 cells because CBP RNAi, rather than brm RNAi, also led to reduction of the H3K27Ac levels in the locus of the internal control actin5C (data not shown).

As described above,

As described above, RG7204 we reasoned that the degree to which the neural state had advanced by the time of the go cue along the mean neural path across similar trials would be predictive of RT (Figure 1C). To test this, we calculated the projection of an individual trial’s neural activities along the mean neural path (the “mean neural trajectory”) for the appropriate target. This is shown in Figure 1C as α, which is the length of the bold line segment. This segment is the projection of the vector pgo   along the vector p¯go+Δt; pgo   links the target’s mean neural activities at the go

cue to the activity on a single trial at the go cue, while p¯go+Δt links the target’s mean neural activities at the go cue to the mean neural activities at a time Δt later for this target. This projection was correlated with the reaction time for all trials to the same target on a trial-by-trial basis. The offset Δt was chosen to maximize the average RT variance explained across all data sets (100 ms for our data; see Figure S1B). The exact Δt used does not appear to be critical, as any from a range of values yields similar results ( Figure S1B). This analysis and all subsequent analyses were performed without dimensionality GSK126 concentration reduction so as to preserve complete information about firing rates from all

neurons recorded. Histograms of correlation coefficients across all reach targets for both monkeys are shown in Figure 3D. For both monkeys, the histograms are shifted significantly to the negative values, with medians less than zero (p < 0.01; Wilcoxon signed-rank test). This is consistent with the hypothesis that trials with neural activities that are farther along the mean neural

trajectory at the time of the go cue have shorter RTs, which predicts that correlation coefficients should be negative. Thus, these data are consistent with the hypothesis as depicted in Figure 1C. We performed several controls, as described in Figure S1, to rule out some alternative hypotheses, as well as potential artifacts in the experimental design or analysis. Specifically, FMO2 we found that a model based on the distance between the neural state and an arbitrary reference point performed more poorly (Figures S1A and S1B); our results did not depend on the inclusion of multineuron units (Figure S1C and qualitative observations that spike sorting was of good quality); subjects remained motivated during the planning period (Figures S1D and S1E); the smoothing used to create continuous firing rates from spike times did not introduce an artifact (Figure S1F); and the results could not be explained by a systematic change of neural position with delay period (Figure S1G), by small anticipatory arm movements during the delay period (Figures S1H–S1J), or by small muscle contractions as measured by EMG (Figures S1J–S1L).

This led to a median reduction of the uEPSC of 37% (range, 6%–70%

This led to a median reduction of the uEPSC of 37% (range, 6%–70%, 29-292 pA; n = 5; Figure 3E). The fact Dorsomorphin cell line that cutting a hotspot-bearing dendrite did not abolish the uEPSC confirms our finding that individual thalamic afferents contact cortical interneurons

through multiple loci and further indicates that these contacts must primarily occur onto distinct dendrites. In addition, these data provide a lower bound estimate (because multiple contacts from one thalamic axon may be located on the same cut dendrite) of ∼3 hotspots per thalamic afferent. How many release sites compose a single hotspot? To address this question, we compared the release probability (Pr) of transmitter with the likelihood that afferent stimulation successfully generates a postsynaptic Ca transient in a given hotspot (PCa) during single-fiber stimulation. If each hotspot contains only one release site, as schematized in Figure 1B,

we expect a linear relationship between synaptic Pr and PCa. In contrast, if N release sites are clustered in one hotspot, then PCa will exceed the synaptic Pr, with PCa = 1 − (1 − Pr)N. We assessed the baseline Pr using variance mean analysis of a binomial model of release (Silver, 2003). Thalamocortical EPSCs were recorded in 3–5 different levels of Ca and Mg to vary Pr, in the presence of 1 mM kynurenate to minimize receptor saturation (Figure 4A) (Foster and Regehr, 2004). INCB024360 The resulting parabolic fit to the plot of EPSC variance versus mean amplitude at each Ca/Mg concentration (Figure 4B) was used to derive N and Q. Pr calculated for the 4 mM Ca, 0.5 mM Mg solution used in imaging experiments was 0.80 ± 0.06, whereas Q was 15.3 ± 3 pA (in the absence of kynurenate;

n = 4), consistent with previous observations (Hull et al., 2009). This high Pr makes it difficult to estimate the N at each hotspot locus over a small number of trials, due to the correspondingly low failure rate of postsynaptic Ca transients. Therefore, we reduced Pr pharmacologically with the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen (1–50 μM) and/or the adenosine A1 receptor agonist CPA (1–50 μM) (Fontanez and Porter, 2006). The resulting fractional reduction in EPSC amplitude, multiplied by the estimated initial Pr of 0.80, served as a cAMP measure of the reduced absolute Pr. We then monitored Ca transients across repeated trials to define PCa. When Pr was moderately reduced to ∼0.5, PCa still hovered close to 100% (Figure 4C), indicating that more than one release site contributes to a single hotspot and excluding the configuration illustrated in Figure 1B. When Pr was reduced to 0.2–0.4, the substantial number of failures of the Ca transient (Figure 4D) revealed that N ranged from 1.5 to 7, with an average of 3.4 ± 0.4 release sites per hotspot (n = 18 hotspots; excluding 3 hotspots where PCa = 1; Figure 4E).

Further analyses support the hypothesis that age-related changes

Further analyses support the hypothesis that age-related changes are based on the development of behavioral control abilities rather than social norm understanding and social abilities. Indeed, when performing a median-split on age in Study 1 to analyze the responder behavior, we observed that younger children were more willing to accept unfair offers of one MU than older children (χ21 = 9.0, p = 0.01; Figure 1C). Astonishingly, these age-related differences in rejection behavior occurred despite comparable fairness judgments across age; that is, children of different ages showing already an equal understanding of which offer was fair and which not (see Figure S1C). Responders

were also asked to rate how they had felt when seeing the offer on three

scales asking for happiness, sadness, and anger ranging from “very” to “not at all.” Again, there were no differences Dabrafenib cell line in rated emotions on any of the three scales between the two age groups, neither when accepting offers (happiness: F[1,52] = 1.05; p = 0.309; sadness: Fulvestrant order F[1,52] = 3.23; p = 0.078; anger: F[1,52] = 0.09; p = 0.766; Figure S1D) and more importantly nor when rejecting offers (happiness: F[1,10] = 2.03; p = 0.185; sadness: F[1,10] = 0.47; p = 0.509; anger: F[1,10] = 0.00; p = 0.987; Figure S1E). Another indicator for age-related differences in behavioral control were findings from Study 2, where the degree of strategic behavior was correlated with behavioral control as measured by SSRT scores (r = −0.578, p = 0.001; Figure 1F) as well as age (r = −0.558, p = 0.002; ρ = −0.563; p = 0.002). Importantly, strategic behavior in both studies was unrelated to performance on measures of perspective taking, empathic concern, risk taking, or general intelligence (see Experimental Procedures for details on the measures and Tables S1) and no age differences could be found on fairness judgments (Figures S1B and S2B), proposers’ beliefs about the responders’ decision

(Figure S2C), or what proposers indicated they would Heterotrimeric G protein have done in the role of responder (Figure S2D). Thus, in two independent studies, we show that the degree of strategic behavior increases with age and demonstrate that this is linked to age-related differences in the ability to implement behavioral control and not to developmental differences in social preferences, knowledge about social norms or beliefs about the others, social skills such as cognitive or affective perspective taking, risk preferences, or general cognitive abilities. Analysis of the proposer behavior in adults revealed that offers were larger in the UG than in the DG (t13 = 7.75, p < 0.001, Figure S2E), showing that adults also demonstrate strategic behavior. In the analyses of the imaging data of Study 2, we opted for a region of interest (ROI) approach (Kriegeskorte et al., 2009).

15 ± 0 68 trials for positive OFC and 18 24 ± 1 07 trials for pos

15 ± 0.68 trials for positive OFC and 18.24 ± 1.07 trials for positive amygdala cells, and 16.97 ± 2.12 trials for negative OFC and 10.03 ± 0.65 trials for negative amygdala cells (margins of error are based on 95% prediction intervals). Thus, for positive cells, the OFC group changed more rapidly than the amygdala group, but, for negative cells, the amygdala group changed more rapidly than its counterpart in OFC. The difference

index provides a straightforward way to analyze the time course of changing neural responses, but it does not take into account the possible contributions of other factors, such as the sensory characteristics of images. Therefore, we used a sliding ANOVA analysis to examine how the unique Selleckchem LDN193189 contributions to neural activity of image identity and image value change after reversal. For each value-coding cell, we calculated the average proportion of explainable variance in neural activity that was due to image value—a “contribution-of-value index”—using data from six trials of each type before and after reversal (24 total trials), and thereafter sliding the postreversal six-trial window in one-trial steps (i.e., using trials 2–7, then 3–8, etc.). As before, we fit sigmoid functions to the index and tested for differences in latency between the curves. This analysis, shown in Figures 5C and 5D, confirmed

the findings of the difference index analysis. The contribution Screening Library of image value to the activity of positive OFC cells increased more rapidly and reached a plateau 6.4 trials earlier than that of positive amygdala cells (Figure 5C); conversely,

the contribution of value to the activity of negative amygdala cells reached a plateau 13.7 trials sooner than that of negative OFC cells (Figure 5D; F-test, p < 0.001 in both cases). Finally, we found that the average onset of changes in neural activity and behavior was similar (Figures 5C and 5D), consistent with the change-point analysis (see Figure 4). These data indicate that although neurons in both brain areas begin to update their signaling Ridaforolimus (Deforolimus, MK-8669) fast enough to drive the onset of behavioral learning, the dynamics of learning differ. The appetitive system (comprising positive value-coding neurons) changes more rapidly in OFC, but the aversive system (comprising negative value-coding neurons) updates more rapidly in amygdala. We next examined how the time course of value-related signals within trials changes during learning (Figure 6; Figure S1). Here, as in Figures 5C and 5D, we calculated a contribution-of-value index in six-trial windows stepped by 1 trial over the reversal learning period; but now we applied the analysis to neural activity in 200 ms bins advanced in 20 ms increments across the trial. For positive OFC cells and negative amygdala cells, the contribution-of-value index achieves significance (p < 0.

However, we did not observe clear differences in excitatory respo

However, we did not observe clear differences in excitatory responses among GL neuron subtypes. One reason may be that it is difficult to detect inhibitory responses with calcium imaging. However, we were able to detect odor-induced decreases in fluorescent responses. In fact, when we analyzed the potential inhibitory responses indicated by decreased fluorescence (Charpak et al., 2001; Sachse and Galizia, 2002), the data showed an interesting trend. Individual JG cells without L-Dends showed either excitatory or presumed

inhibitory responses to odorant stimulation, but not both, while JG cells with L-Dends, tufted cells and mitral cells frequently showed a combination of excitatory and presumed inhibitory responses (Figure S4). p53 inhibitor These data imply that neurons without L-Dends have less varied functional roles compared to neurons with L-Dends, PF-02341066 mouse and provide evidence for functional differences between these neurons. Therefore, distinct functional responses to inhibitory inputs might be critical properties of OB neurons. Another potential reason for the difficulties in finding subtype specific functional roles may be the slow acquisition rate of two-photon imaging. Since the temporal accuracy of spike

discharges on respiratory rhythms is thought to contribute to odor information coding (Carey and Wachowiak, 2011; Cury and Uchida, 2010; Kepecs et al., 2006; Phillips et al., 2012; Shusterman et al., 2011; Smear et al., 2011; Uchida et al., 2006; Wachowiak, 2011), it may be worthwhile investigating the temporal activity patterns of individual neurons in the same module. Electrophysiological experiments performed in acute OB slices revealed that external tufted cells create oscillatory phasic network activities within a glomerulus (Hayar et al., 2004; Liu and Shipley, 2008), and glutamate

spillover and gap junctions within the glomerulus contribute to synchronous neuronal activities within a glomerular module (Christie et al., 2005; Ma and Lowe, 2010; Schoppa and Westbrook, 2001, 2002). Those results imply that a glomerulus may be a functional unit that creates a temporal clock of synchronized activities. Moreover, Monoiodotyrosine recent research showed that neurons in the same glomerular module are activated in different phases of respiratory rhythms (Dhawale et al., 2010). However, most current two-photon imaging methods do not have enough speed to measure temporal activity patterns. In addition, we cannot rule out the possibility of nonlinearity in calcium signals and a potentially high threshold in the calcium imaging method. These drawbacks of the imaging technique might cause distortions of response profiles and make the data difficult to compare directly with electrophysiological experimental data. However, a recently developed high-speed two-photon imaging system (Grewe et al., 2010; Zeng et al., 2006) and voltage-sensitive protein sensor (Jin et al., 2012) might help overcome this problem.