Hi, I am trying to use optogenetics to study the connection of two nucleus within rat brain. However, the distance between this two nucleus is only 1mm. Does anyone know the distance a certain optical light can diffuse in the brain issue? Thanks!
For a discussion of important factors, PMID: 25402854 might be a decent start.
See the following article concerning light diffusion in different brain brain regions of mouse;
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0067626
See recent work by Ed Boyden's group as well addressing this issue;
http://syntheticneurobiology.org/
Bottom line: if you're using a fiber, and place the tip ~200 um from the stimulation target (a common distance), your target will see only ~10% of the light intensity measured at the tip of the fiber.
Another useful source, that synthesizes from a number of publications:
http://www.openoptogenetics.org/index.php?title=Transmission_Through_Brain_Tissue
This includes measurements by Svoboda's group that look at the lateral spread for an LED on the cortical surface.
http://www.openoptogenetics.org/index.php?title=Transmission_Through_Brain_Tissue
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