Ed Boyden, Professor of Biological Engineering and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT, leads the Synthetic Neurobiology Group, which develops tools for analyzing and repairing complex biological systems such as the brain, and applies them systematically to reveal basic principles of biological function and to repair these systems. In this three-part lecture, he discusses tools for mapping and repairing neural circuitry using expansion microscopy (part 1), whole-brain imaging with light-field microscopy (part 2), and optogenetics (part 3).

Videos:

• Tools for mapping and repairing the brain (part 1) (25:33)
• Tools for mapping and repairing the brain (part 2) (11:11)
• Tools for mapping and repairing the brain (part 3) (19:58)
• Ed Boyden's TED Talk (18:18)

Slides:

• Ed Boyden's Lecture Slides

Additional Resources:

• Ed Boyden’s Lab website: The Synthetic Neurobiology Group
• Karagiannis, E.D. & Boyden, E. S. (2018) Expansion microscopy: Development and neuroscience applications, Current Opinion in Neurobiology 50:56-63.
• Klapoetke, N. C., et al. (2014) Independent optical excitation of distinct neural populations, Nature Methods 11:338–346.
• Prevedel, R. et al. (2014) Simultaneous whole-animal 3D imaging of neuronal activity using light-field microscopy, Nature Methods 11:727-730.
• Tye, K. M. & Deisseroth, K. (2012) Optogenetic investigation of neural circuits underlying brain disease in animal models, Nature Reviews Neuroscience 13:251-266.