Guest Editors
Sufang Liu
Texas A&M University College of Dentistry
Sufang Liu is an Assistant Research Scientist in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University College of Dentistry. Dr. Liu obtained her MD degree in 2000 and PhD degree in 2014. She has been working on several research projects including dopaminergic descending pain modulation of orofacial pain. Her work has been published in prestigious neuroscience journals, including the Journal of Neuroscience and PAIN. Currently Dr. Liu is conducting a new research project using state-of-the-art techniques (optogenetics and miniscope-based in vivo calcium imaging) to develop a novel neuromodulation approach to treat orofacial pain.
Feng Tao
Texas A&M University College of Dentistry
Dr. Feng Tao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University College of Dentistry. Dr. Tao received his MD degree in 1986 and PhD degree (Neurobiology) in 2000. His research interests are focused on chronic pain mechanism analysis and pain neuromodulation. Dr. Tao’s research projects are supported by RO1 grant and Independent Scientist Award from NIH. He has published more than 40 papers in peer-reviewed professional journals. Currently, Dr. Tao is serving as the chair of Research Committee in his school. He is an editorial board member for 5 professional journals and also serves as an invited grant reviewer for NIH NRCS Study Section, Johns Hopkins ACCM Seed Grant, NSF-sponsored Pilot Funding at Louisiana State University, Arizona Biomedical Research Commission, Britain Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership Regenerative Medicine Initiative, Wings for Life−Spinal Cord Research Foundation in Austria, Department of Veterans Affairs Rehabilitation Research and Development Service Spinal Cord Injury, Neuropathic Pain Panel, and The French National Research Agency (ANR) in France, NIH/NCCIH Special Emphasis Panel ZAT1 AJT (09), and NIH HEAL Initiative Program.
Collection Overview
In recent years, more and more novel approaches have been developed for neuromodulation and in vivo neural activity recording. Optogenetics is uniquely useful in elucidating neuronal circuits in the central nervous system by enabling reversible gain- or loss-of-function of discrete populations of neurons within specific brain regions. This trail-blazing technology can produce circuit-specific neuromodulation by overexpressing light-sensitive proteins in particular cell types of interest. Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs)-based chemogenetic manipulation is another powerful approach for cell-specific neuromodulation. On the other hand, multi-channel electrophysiological recording and in vivo calcium imaging via miniaturized microscope (miniscope) or fiber photometry have been widely used for real-time neuronal activity monitoring. Moreover, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional ultrasound have been demonstrated to reveal functional connectivity of brain neural circuits.
In this Methods Collection, we will collect innovative neuromodulation and neural activity recording methods currently used in neuroscience research. For each method, authors will provide detailed information about advantages and disadvantages of the method as well as how to use the method in neuroscience research.
Articles
Whole-Brain 3D Activation and Functional Connectivity Mapping in Mice using Transcranial Functional Ultrasound Imaging
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Cited by 55
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2021
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