Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

Hey Science Buddies,

I am high school student, currently working in a lab that is working on a technique called optogentics. In the lab, we are trying to find our a new way to make sure the optic fiber that we place in a mouse brain will not "angle" off. We want to make sure that it stays in place. Is there any articles or something any of you know about this?

Thanks,
Anoop

If someone could help answer this question, I would appreciate this a lot.

Thank you,
Anoop Reddi

Hi Anoop,

That is a very interesting project you are working on and one that will give you lots of lab experience.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'angling off', but i assume it is movement of the end of the fiber optic cable away from where it was placed in the brain. Would it be possible to suture it in place using fine silk thread without damaging the brain or the cable? Is the cable cemented into the mouse's skull? When we do surgery on a mouse skull to implant a cannula, we use bone cement to make sure the animal does not scratch it loose.

I assume you have checked PubMed to see if there's any mention of a way to hold something similar, like an electrode, inside the brain to keep it from moving. I would think keeping an electrode placed into a specific location in the brain would entail the same problems as a fiber optic cable.

Give me some more information about your method for attaching the cable to the animal and maybe i can suggest something else to try to secure it.

Good luck,

SciB