Biology subjects

Voigt, F. F.

Publications and source records attributed to Voigt, F. F..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Altair-dvOPM: an open-access platform for large-field three-dimensional tissue imaging

Altair-dvOPM is an open-access direct-view oblique plane microscope designed for large-field, three-dimensional imaging of cleared and expanded tissue sections. By combining photographic-lens-based detection, externally launched oblique illumination and precision-registered modular baseplates, the system achieves micrometer-scale lateral resolution over a ~5.4 mm field of view without custom objectives or highly specialized alignment procedures. We demonstrate imaging across scales, from subcellular structures in expanded cells to centimeter-scale expanded tissue sections, and provide documentation, CAD files, Zemax models and open-source control software to support replication and extension.

biophysics↗

bioRxiv2026

Deep learning enables feature extraction of 3D collagen architecture in cleared fibrotic tissues

Light-sheet fluorescence microscopy enables deep optical sectioning of large, cleared biological tissues. However, effective clearing of collagen-rich tissues remains a persistent technical challenge. Moreover, standardized workflows integrating three-dimensional imaging with computational analysis of collagen architecture are currently unavailable. Here, we present an integrated pipeline combining optimized tissue clearing, volumetric light-sheet imaging, and deep learning-based feature extraction of collagen architecture. Using experimental desmoid tumors as a proxy for collagen-dense tissues, we optimised DISCO-based clearing incorporating Fast Green FCF for collagen labelling. We achieved optical transparency and full 3D visualization of collagen architectures in desmoid tumors, human skin biopsies, and fibrotic mouse lung & liver tissues, including FFPE samples. Using the Benchtop mesoSPIM platform, we acquired high-resolution volumetric datasets and validated multimodal collagen imaging through two-photon microscopy with the Schmidt-Voigt objective. To enable automated feature extraction from these large volumetric datasets, we developed ColNet, a U-Net model for automated collagen fiber segmentation. ColNet demonstrated robust generalization across diverse human and mouse tissues without retraining or hyperparameter adjustment. This integrated workflow provides a foundation for future quantitative assessment of cell-extracellular matrix dynamics in a fibrotic context.

cancer biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Developmental Divergence of Sensory Stimulus Representation in Cortical Interneurons

Two inhibitory cell types involved in modulating barrel cortex activity and perception during active whisking in adult mice, are the VIP+ and SST+ interneurons. Here we identify a developmental transition point of structural and functional rearrangements onto these interneuron types around the start of active sensation at P14. Using in vivo two-photon Ca2+ imaging, we find that before P14, both interneuron types respond stronger to a multi-whisker stimulus, whereas after P14 their responses diverge, with VIP+ cells losing their multi-whisker preference and SST+ neurons enhancing theirs. Rabies virus tracings followed by tissue clearing, as well as photostimulation-coupled electrophysiology reveal that SST+ cells receive higher cross-barrel inputs compared to VIP+ at both time points. In addition, we also uncover that whereas prior to P14 both cell types receive direct input from the sensory thalamus, after P14 VIP+ cells show reduced inputs and SST+ cells largely shift to motor-related thalamic nuclei.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Sensory and Behavioral Components of Neocortical Signal Flow in Discrimination Tasks with Short-term Memory

In neocortex, each sensory modality engages distinct primary and secondary areas that route information further to association areas. Where signal flow may converge for maintaining information in short-term memory and how behavior may influence signal routing remain open questions. Using wide-field calcium imaging, we compared cortex-wide neuronal activity in layer 2/3 for mice trained in auditory and whisker-based tactile discrimination tasks with delayed response. In both tasks, mice were either active or passive during stimulus presentation, engaging in body movements or sitting quietly. Irrespective of behavioral strategy, auditory and tactile stimulation activated spatially segregated subdivisions of posterior parietal cortex (areas A and RL, respectively). In the subsequent delay period, in contrast, behavioral strategy rather than sensory modality determined where short-term memory was located: frontomedially in active trials and posterolaterally in passive trials. Our results suggest behavior-dependent routing of sensory-driven cortical information flow from modality-specific PPC subdivisions to higher association areas.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2019

Context-dependent limb movement encoding in neuronal populations of motor cortex

Neuronal networks of the mammalian motor cortex (M1) are important for dexterous control of limb joints. Yet it remains unclear how encoding of joint movement in M1 networks depends on varying environmental contexts. Using calcium imaging we measured neuronal activity in layer 2/3 of the mouse M1 forelimb region while mice grasped either regularly or irregularly spaced ladder rungs during locomotion. We found that population coding of forelimb joint movements is sparse and varies according to the flexibility demanded from them in the regular and irregular context, even for equivalent grasping actions across conditions. This context-dependence of M1 network encoding emerged during learning of the locomotion task, fostered more precise grasping actions, but broke apart upon silencing of projections from secondary motor cortex (M2). These findings suggest that M2 reconfigures M1 neuronal circuits to adapt joint processing to the flexibility demands in specific familiar contexts, thereby increasing the accuracy of motor output.

neuroscience↗