SUMMARY Targeting genetically encoded tools for neural circuit dissection to relevant cellular populations is a major challenge in neurobiology. We developed a new approach, Targeted Recombination in Active Populations (TRAP), to obtain genetic access to neurons that were activated by defined stimuli. This method utilizes mice in which the tamoxifen-dependent recombinase CreERT2 is expressed in an activity-dependent manner from the loci of the immediate early genes Arc and Fos. Active cells that express CreERT2 can undergo recombination only when tamoxifen is present, allowing genetic access to neurons that are active during a time window of less than 12 h. We show that TRAP can selectively provide access to neurons activated by specific somatosensory, visual, and auditory stimuli, and by experience in a novel environment. When combined with tools for labeling, tracing, recording, and manipulating neurons, TRAP offers a powerful new approach for understanding how the brain processes information and generates behavior.

SUMMARY A mechanistic understanding of neural computation requires determining how information is processed as it passes through neurons and across synapses. However, it has been challenging to measure membrane potential changes in axons and dendrites in vivo. We use in vivo, two-photon imaging of novel genetically encoded voltage indicators, as well as calcium imaging, to measure sensory stimulus-evoked signals in the Drosophila visual system with subcellular resolution. Across synapses, we find major transformations in the kinetics, amplitude, and sign of voltage responses to light. We also describe distinct relationships between voltage and calcium signals in different neuronal compartments, a substrate for local computation. Finally, we demonstrate that ON and OFF selectivity, a key feature of visual processing across species, emerges through the transformation of membrane potential into intracellular calcium concentration. By imaging voltage and calcium signals to map information flow with subcellular resolution, we illuminate where and how critical computations arise.

Monitoring voltage dynamics in defined neurons deep in the brain is critical for unraveling the function of neuronal circuits but is challenging due to the limited performance of existing tools. In particular, while genetically encoded voltage indicators have shown promise for optical detection of voltage transients, many indicators exhibit low sensitivity when imaged under two-photon illumination. Previous studies thus fell short of visualizing voltage dynamics in individual neurons in single trials. Here, we report ASAP2s, a novel voltage indicator with improved sensitivity. By imaging ASAP2s using random-access multi-photon microscopy, we demonstrate robust single-trial detection of action potentials in organotypic slice cultures. We also show that ASAP2s enables two-photon imaging of graded potentials in organotypic slice cultures and in Drosophila. These results demonstrate that the combination of ASAP2s and fast two-photon imaging methods enables detection of neural electrical activity with subcellular spatial resolution and millisecond-timescale precision.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.25690.001

The kinetics of the uncatalyzed and homogeneously catalyzed oxidation of p-chlorophenol in water near the critical point (374 °C, 218 atm) was investigated. Under the conditions of the experiments, the rate of disappearance of chlorophenol appears to be first order at low concentrations, second order at high concentrations, and independent of the concentration of oxygen. This was observed at both subcritical and supercritical conditions. Trace metals as a result of reactor corrosion were found in the reaction mixture and may have acted as catalysts. Further addition of copper(II) and manganese(II) salts as homogeneous catalysts resulted in modest increases in the oxidation rate. The presence of the added catalyst did not appear to alter the mechanism. A pronounced surface effect was evident. Increasing the surface-to-volume ratio of the reactor enhances the rate, possibly due to wall initiation. Feasible mechanisms are postulated, which include solvolysis and free-radical oxidation.

A longstanding goal in neuroscience is to understand how spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal electrical activity underlie brain function, from sensory representations to decision making. An emerging technology for monitoring electrical dynamics, voltage imaging using genetically encoded voltage indicators (GEVIs), couples the power of genetics with the advantages of light. Here, we review the properties that determine indicator performance and applicability, discussing both recent progress and technical limitations. We then consider GEVI applications, highlighting studies that have already deployed GEVIs for biological discovery. We also examine which classes of biological questions GEVIs are primed to address and which ones are beyond their current capabilities. As GEVIs are further developed, we anticipate that they will become more broadly used by the neuroscience community to eavesdrop on brain activity with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution.

In the originally published version of this article, the citation Luo et al., 2008, in the opening paragraph was incorrectly changed to Luo et al., 2009 during the production stage, and the corresponding reference was omitted. The citation has been updated, and the correct Luo et al., 2008, reference has been added to the reference list. Neuron apologizes for this error.

Motion in the visual world provides critical information to guide the behavior of sighted animals. Furthermore, as visual motion estimation requires comparisons of signals across inputs and over time, it represents a paradigmatic and generalizable neural computation. Focusing on the Drosophila visual system, where an explosion of technological advances has recently accelerated experimental progress, we review our understanding of how, algorithmically and mechanistically, motion signals are first computed.

Manipulating gene function cell type-specifically is a common experimental goal in Drosophila research and has been central to studies of neural development, circuit computation, and behavior. However, current cell type-specific gene disruption techniques in flies often reduce gene activity incompletely or rely on cell division. Here we describe FlpStop, a generalizable tool for conditional gene disruption and rescue in post-mitotic cells. In proof-of-principle experiments, we manipulated apterous, a regulator of wing development. Next, we produced conditional null alleles of Glutamic acid decarboxylase 1 (Gad1) and Resistant to dieldrin (Rdl), genes vital for GABAergic neurotransmission, as well as cacophony (cac) and paralytic (para), voltage-gated ion channels central to neuronal excitability. To demonstrate the utility of this approach, we manipulated cac in a specific visual interneuron type and discovered differential regulation of calcium signals across subcellular compartments. Thus, FlpStop will facilitate investigations into the interactions between genes, circuits, and computation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.22279.001