DEEP BRAIN PHOTONIC TOOLS FOR CELL-TYPE SPECIFIC TARGETING OF NEURAL DISEASES

DEEPER aims at tackling this fundamental challenge by developing an entire new class of photonic tools for imaging and manipulating neuronal activity in the deep brain with unprecedented penetration depth, resolution, sensitivity, specificity and depth of focus. Technology development in DEEPER will be driven by medical expertise and market requirements and it will be organized in three pillars focusing on: i) novel high-efficiency molecular sensors and actuators; ii) minimally invasive probes for monitoring and perturbing large populations of cells; iii) next generation multiphoton microscopes and microendoscopes. In a fourth pillar, this technological platform will enable a number of clinically relevant experiments which will contribute to reveal the molecular and cellular dysfunctions underlying the pathogenesis of specific neurological (addiction, chronic pain, Alzheimer’s disease) and psychiatric disorders (depression, schizophrenia, and autism).