Effects of discontinuous blue light stimulation on the electrophysiological properties of neurons lacking opsin expression in vitro: Implications for optogenetic experiments

Abstract

AbstractNeuronal sensitivity to light stimulation can be a significant confounding factor for assays that use light to study neuronal processes, such as optogenetics and fluorescent imaging. While continuous one‐photon (1P) blue light stimulation has been shown to be responsible for a decrease in firing activity in several neuronal subtypes, discontinuous 1P blue light stimulation commonly used in optogenetic experiments is supposed to have a negligible action. In the present report, we tested experimentally this theoretical prediction by assessing the effects produced by the most commonly used patterns of discontinuous 1P light stimulation on several electrophysiological parameters in brain slices. We found that, compared with continuous stimulation, the artefactual effect of light is reduced when discontinuous stimulation is used, especially when the duty cycle and light power are low.