{
  "id": 18584424,
  "title": "Measuring neuronal input-output operations in vivo with random access projection microscopy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/06/measuring-neuronal-input-output-operations-in-vivo-with-random-access",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-11-06T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.05.764682v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Neurons convert a multitude of synaptic inputs into electrical spikes, necessitating the measurement of thousands of submicron synapses at millisecond rates in living organisms. Scientists have introduced SLAP2, a two-photon microscope capable of random access projection imaging, which boasts no time penalty for accessing each target, resulting in imaging speeds five times faster than previous techniques. This microscope also features efficient real-time hardware motion correction. Researchers used SLAP2 to examine hundreds of synapses at a rate of 200 Hz, 800 synapses within a volume at a rate of 50-100 Hz, and dendritic voltage changes in brain cells of moving mice. The microscope allowed for the observation of dendritic glutamate and somatic calcium imaging in the visual cortex of pyramidal neurons, revealing non-linear amplification of input signals arriving at the same time and consistent stimulation patterns. The study's findings show that amplified signals are linked to inputs arranged in a spatially organized manner and stronger connections between synaptic activity and cellular output. These detailed observations of subcellular fluorescence patterns in living animals establish SLAP2 as an invaluable tool for studying complex cell-level interactions.",
  "summary": "Neurons transform thousands of synaptic inputs into spiking output, and understanding this transformation requires measuring many submicron synapses at millisecond timescales in vivo. Here we present SLAP2, a two-photon random access projection microscope with no per-target access time cost, yielding over 5-fold faster imaging than existing methods, and performant real-time hardware motion…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}