Physiology Lab: DeepLabCut
An interesting course report.
Summary
Optogenetics is a new biological technique that was discovered in the beginning of the 21st century and that has become one of the biggest breakthroughs in neuroscience. In this research project, researchers were interested in the light-activation of head direction cells (HDs) in mice, using optogenetics: they injected a viral vector that targets specifically HDs in the anterior dorsal thalamic nucleus (ADn) to express light-sensitive ion channels (Channelrhodopsin-2, ChR2) in these cells. The HDs cells could therefore be activated by light, and the behaviour of the mice in a box was monitored by video. This project focused on the use of a deep learning software, DeepLabCut, to track the position of specific parts of the mouse in order to monitor the head direction during time, using a code on MatLab. We were finally able to determine how the specific activation of these HDs by light can change the behaviour of a mouse and therefore enlighten the role of HDs.