哥伦比亚大学Peter D. Balsam团队近日取得一项新成果。经过不懈努力，他们研究出允许小鼠在光度测定和电生理同时进行时自由移动的自动装置。相关论文于2026年5月11日发表在《自然—方法学》杂志上。

在这里，研究组介绍一种克服这些挑战的设备。它的自动方向跟踪系统允许受试者在最少的监督下自由移动多个小时，而且不会牺牲数据质量。该设备是模块化的，适应性强，与大多数录音系统兼容，并配备了附加功能。为了证明它的实用性，研究小组在小鼠执行奖励学习任务时同时跟踪细胞外纹状体多巴胺和单神经元放电。小鼠表现出出色的活动能力，该课题组人员观察到纹状体放电和多巴胺信号之间的逐次相关性。

据了解，光度学和电生理学是研究大脑行为关系的有力工具。将这些技术结合到自由运动的动物身上，将使他们能够提出诸如神经调节剂如何影响行为过程中的神经元放电率之类的问题。当前的选择是有限的——需要大量的数据质量损失或限制自然运动。这些缺点来自于设备的工程限制，这些设备允许光学系住的对象自由移动。

附：英文原文

Title: Automated device for permitting free movement during simultaneous photometry and electrophysiology in mice

Author: De Corte, Benjamin J., Kim, Youngcho, Heslin, Kelsey A., Freeman, John H., Simpson, Eleanor H., Parker, Krystal L., Balsam, Peter D.

Issue&Volume: 2026-05-11

Abstract: Photometry and electrophysiology are powerful tools for investigating brain–behavior relationships. Combining these techniques in freely moving animals would allow us to ask questions such as how neuromodulators impact neuronal firing rates during behavior. Current options are limited—requiring a substantial loss in data quality or restricting naturalistic movement. These drawbacks arise from engineering limits on devices that allow optically tethered subjects to move freely. Here we introduce a device that overcomes these challenges. Its automated orientation-tracking system allows subjects to move freely for multiple hours with minimal supervision and without sacrificing data quality. The device is modular and adaptable, being compatible with most recording systems and equipped for added functionality. To demonstrate its utility, we simultaneously tracked extracellular striatal dopamine and single-neuron firing as mice performed a reward-learning task. Mice showed excellent mobility and we observed robust trial-by-trial correlations between striatal firing and dopamine signaling.

DOI: 10.1038/s41592-026-03092-z

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-026-03092-z