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Peer-reviewedCC BYELife

Open source laser-scanning photostimulation for neuroscience with Zapit.

  • Michael Lohse1
  • Oliver M Gauld1
  • Maja T Quigley1,2
  • Ainiah Masood3
  • Chaofei Bao1
  • Jingjie Li1
  • Nathaniel J Miska1
  • Gerion Nabbefeld3
  • Quentin Pajot-Moric1
  • Simon Townsend1
  • Peter Vincent1
  • Angela Y Yang1
8 more authors
  • Nikolaos Zervogiannis1
  • Athena Akrami1
  • Chunyu A Duan1
  • Jeffrey C Erlich1
  • Sonja B Hofer1
  • Thomas D Mrsic-Flogel1
  • Philip Coen3
  • Robert A A Campbell1
  1. 1Sainsbury Wellcome Centre, UCL, London, United Kingdom.
  2. 2University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
  3. 3Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, UCL, London, United Kingdom.
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Abstract

Optogenetic tools are indispensable for understanding the causal neural mechanisms underlying animal behavior, providing millisecond-precision control over genetically defined neural populations. Random-access laser-scanning optogenetics is a powerful and underutilized method for transiently manipulating cortical activity in mice. Despite the utility of this technique, no general-purpose open-source implementation currently exists, and potential users need expertise across optics, real-time hardware control, and programming. This represents a major barrier to adoption, particularly for newly established research groups. Here we present 'Zapit', the first open-source general-purpose platform for random-access laser-scanning optogenetic experiments in head-fixed mice. Zapit is fully documented, has a user-friendly GUI, works in stereotaxic coordinates, and comes with easy-to-build hardware options that extend functionality beyond any published system. We validate Zapit's performance through electrophysiological recordings and cortical photoinhibition in behaving mice. Zapit is a novel and innovative tool with the potential to democratize laser-scanning optogenetics and significantly increase uptake throughout the scientific community.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{lohse2026open,
  title = {{Open source laser-scanning photostimulation for neuroscience with Zapit.}},
  author = {Michael Lohse and Oliver M Gauld and Maja T Quigley and Ainiah Masood and Chaofei Bao and Jingjie Li and Nathaniel J Miska and Gerion Nabbefeld and Quentin Pajot-Moric and Simon Townsend and Peter Vincent and Angela Y Yang and Nikolaos Zervogiannis and Athena Akrami and Chunyu A Duan and Jeffrey C Erlich and Sonja B Hofer and Thomas D Mrsic-Flogel and Philip Coen and Robert A A Campbell},
  journal = {ELife},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.7554/elife.111872},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42932446},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Open source laser-scanning photostimulation for neuroscience with Zapit.
AU  - Michael Lohse
AU  - Oliver M Gauld
AU  - Maja T Quigley
AU  - Ainiah Masood
AU  - Chaofei Bao
AU  - Jingjie Li
AU  - Nathaniel J Miska
AU  - Gerion Nabbefeld
AU  - Quentin Pajot-Moric
AU  - Simon Townsend
AU  - Peter Vincent
AU  - Angela Y Yang
AU  - Nikolaos Zervogiannis
AU  - Athena Akrami
AU  - Chunyu A Duan
AU  - Jeffrey C Erlich
AU  - Sonja B Hofer
AU  - Thomas D Mrsic-Flogel
AU  - Philip Coen
AU  - Robert A A Campbell
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/26
JO  - ELife
DO  - 10.7554/elife.111872
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42932446
AB  - Optogenetic tools are indispensable for understanding the causal neural mechanisms underlying animal behavior, providing millisecond-precision control over genetically defined neural populations. Random-access laser-scanning optogenetics is a powerful and underutilized method for transiently manipulating cortical activity in mice. Despite the utility of this technique, no general-purpose open-source implementation currently exists, and potential users need expertise across optics, real-time hardware control, and programming. This represents a major barrier to adoption, particularly for newly established research groups. Here we present 'Zapit', the first open-source general-purpose platform for random-access laser-scanning optogenetic experiments in head-fixed mice. Zapit is fully documented, has a user-friendly GUI, works in stereotaxic coordinates, and comes with easy-to-build hardware options that extend functionality beyond any published system. We validate Zapit's performance through electrophysiological recordings and cortical photoinhibition in behaving mice. Zapit is a novel and innovative tool with the potential to democratize laser-scanning optogenetics and significantly increase uptake throughout the scientific community.
SN  - 2050-084X
ER  -