Photoacoustic stimulation with single neuron precision

Abstract

Towards non-genetic, precise neural stimulation, we develop a photoacoustic neural stimulation technology. It employs a fiber-based optoacoustic process, in which pulsed light is delivered through an optical fiber into an absorbing layer coated at the tip, resulting in transient heating and generating a localized acoustic wave. We report photoacoustic stimulation in vitro and in vivo through a lab-built fiber based optoacoustic emitter (FOE). Single neuron optoacoustic neural modulation is achieved through a tapered FOE (TFOE) developed with negligible thermal deposition. TFOE single neuron stimulation is shown to be compatible with patch and provides insights towards mechanical modulation of neural systems.