RELINQUISHED - Fast 3D imaging of neural signal propagation using light-field microscopy

This project aims to introduce a new light-field microscope, and use it to reveal the dynamics of neural activity that is sustained as it circulates through neural networks in the brain. Neurons in the brain are highly interconnected, which can allow neural signals to be sustained in a repeating cycle. While this is postulated to underlie tasks such as working memory, its true role in information processing is unclear. To characterise this fundamentally large-scale aspect of neural computation one requires an instrument that measures neural activity at high speed across large numbers of neurons. This project will provide these capabilities for the first time, and will provide new evidence of the nature of this sustained activity.