External Resources

The ONE Core is here to support YOUR research. Here is a running list of resources, friends, and projects you may find useful.

Outreach6

Learn About Optogenetics!!

  • SfN Training Module
    New to Optogenetics? The Society for Neuroscience has a great 8 module training series that will propel you forward. We highly recommend module 7, Technical Considerations. It is “organized in partnership with neuroscientists Kamran Khodakhah (Albert Einstein College of Medicine), Alexandra Nelson (University of California, San Francisco), and Veronica Alvarez (NIH Intramural Research Program/NIAAA)”. You need not be a member of SfN as “anyone can access five resources of their choosing every 30 days, including content in the optogenetics training series.” (note that we have been able to observe all 8 modules without logging in)

  • Optogenetic App
    Optogenetic App - Useful application for calculating light-delivery needs for optogenetics research, developed in house

  • Open Optogenetics
    Open Optogenetics is a great resource for freely sharing information on optogenetics. It is good option for learning more about optogenetic expression in mice, light delivery methods, and neural recording.

  • Deisseroth Lab
    Not only has the Diesseroth Lab made huge contributions to modern optogenetics, but they have also done some great work with CLARITY tissue clearing techniques and fiber photometry. And they kindly explain how each technique works.

  • Fiber Optic Fabrication
    Jove has a great video showing how to fabricate your own custom fiber optics for use in optogenetics. This might be behind a paywall. Ung, K., Arenkiel, B. R. Fiber-optic Implantation for Chronic Optogenetic Stimulation of Brain Tissue. J. Vis. Exp. (68), e50004, doi:10.3791/50004 (2012).

  • Irradiance and Light Delivery System
    Check out our guides on Irradiance Reporting for proper ways to think about and calculate optical power and Light Delivery System Components

Learn about NeuroScience!!

  • Open Behavior
    A great resource on behavioral neuroscience research. They provide information on building behavioral apparatus, recording neural activity, analyzing data, and much more.

  • Open Ephys
    They are dedicated to developing and disseminating open-source electrophysiology tools. Check out their wiki to see a list of their available projects.

  • Center for Open Neuroscience
    They offer a number of powerful open source software tools for neuroscientists.

  • OpenWetWare
    They provide resources on wet-lab biology equipment and protocols.

Learn about Engineering!!

  • Sparkfun
    The ‘maker movement’ has revolutionized science. Expensive lab equipment is being replaced with open source projects. Sparkfun sells inexpensive electronics (Arduino, Raspberry Pi, etc.) and has FANTASTIC tutorials on how to implement these tools into your science. Many ONE Core projects are a direct result of Sparkfun.

  • Thingiverse
    Hosts over a million 3D designs (lots of lab stuff too!). Thingiverse is easily one of the largest 3D printing communities out there. Designs are freely available and easily modified, meaning you won’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you come up with a new idea.

  • Thorlabs
    A great resource for optics, from light sources to photo-detectors. Note that they freely share many of their designs in the .stl format. This format just so happens to be great for 3D printing cough cough

Notable projects not mentioned elsewhere on this site

  • PhotometryBox
    An open source Fiber Photometry set up. I have not built it, but have heard that it works great.

Acknowledgement

Please acknowledge our Core in your publications. An appropriate wording would be

“The Optogenetics and Neural Engineering (ONE) Core at the University of Colorado School of Medicine provided engineering support for this research. The ONE Core is part of the NeuroTechnology Center, funded in part by the School of Medicine and by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health under award number P30NS048154.”

Contact

Please contact the Optogenetics and Neural Engineering Core via email with any questions, comments, or requests for quotes.