Two-Photon Calcium Imaging Pipeline

Rodent Visual Cortex • 30Hz Acquisition
1

Raw Calcium Imaging Data

High-resolution two-photon microscopy captures fluorescent calcium indicators (GCaMP) in neurons of the visual cortex. Raw time-series imaging data contains motion artifacts and requires preprocessing before analysis.

Frame Rate
30 Hz
Resolution
512×512
Indicator
GCaMP6s
TIFF Stack HDF5 2-Photon Microscopy
2

Motion Correction

Brain tissue moves during imaging due to breathing, heartbeat, and movement. Rigid and non-rigid registration algorithms align frames to compensate for these shifts, producing stable, artifact-free videos.

Algorithm
Non-Rigid
Max Shift
6 pixels
Block Size
128×128
Suite2p CaImAn Optical Flow
3

Neural Source Extraction

Automated detection and segmentation of individual neurons (ROIs) from the imaging field. Extract fluorescence time-series from each neuron while correcting for neuropil contamination from surrounding tissue.

Neurons Detected
156
Cell Diameter
12 μm
Neuropil Coeff
0.7
CNMF Suite2p ROI Cell Segmentation
4

Spike Deconvolution

Infer neural spiking activity from calcium fluorescence signals. Deconvolution algorithms account for the slow kinetics of calcium indicators (τ ≈ 0.7s for GCaMP6s) to estimate the underlying action potential firing patterns.

Algorithm
OASIS
Decay Time (τ)
0.7 s
Mean Firing Rate
2.4 Hz
OASIS FOOPSI Wiener Filter