Deconvolving Neuronal Ensembles from Macroscopic Neural Activities in Voltage-Sensitive Dye Image Streams on Mouse Cerebrum Slices

Authors

  • Karin Horiuchi Dept. of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Nara College, Nara, Japan https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2585-1004
  • Santa Fukuda Dept. Information Engineering, Grad. Engineering, Mie University, Mie, Japan https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6932-6875
  • Masahiro Ohtani Dept. of Electrical Engineering, National Institute of Technology Nara College, Nara, Japan
  • Yuki Hayashida Dept. Information Engineering, Grad. Engineering, Mie University, Mie, Japan https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1523-5385

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22452/mjs.vol45sp2.4

Keywords:

Visual prosthesis, Neuronal ensemble, Voltage-sensitive dye imaging, Spatio-temporal cross-correlation analyses

Abstract

Previous clinical trials have demonstrated that electrical microstimulation delivered within the primary visual cortex (V1) in human subjects with acquired blindness can evoke focal light sensations in their visual fields, supporting the feasibility of intracortical visual prostheses. Our previous animal studies using voltage-sensitive dye (VSD) imaging examined the spatiotemporal patterns of cortical neural activity in response to electrical current-pulse stimuli, varying stimulus parameters to optimize stimulation design. These studies revealed specific relationships between stimulus parameters and neural responses at millisecond temporal resolution and submillimeter spatial scales. However, as VSD images typically represent voltage changes across all cytoplasmic membranes of cells responding to stimuli, activities of individual neuron populations and their functional connections are obscured by the macroscopic responses. This study aims to investigate stimulus-induced neuronal activities at a finer spatial resolution by employing image processing techniques. Specifically, spatial and temporal cross-correlation analyses were applied to VSD image streams to identify spatially distinguishable patterns of pixel clusters exhibiting temporally correlated VSD signals. In certain cases, these neuronal ensembles, each smaller than 100 micrometers in diameter, displayed time-fixed correlation in membrane voltage change, suggesting functional connectivity between them. The image processing method demonstrates the potential of separating distinct activities of cortical neuronal ensembles from macroscopic VSD imaging data, offering a valuable tool for detailed studies of stimulus-induced network dynamics and, in turn, optimizing stimuli for visual prostheses.

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Published

15-11-2026

Issue

Vol. 45 No. Sp2 (2026): Special Issue: 5th International Conference on Applied & Industrial Mathematics and Statistics 2025 (ICoAIMS 2025)

Section

Special Issue - 5th ICoAIMS 2025

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