Brain imaging from the nano- to the macro-scale

A single imaging technique can reveal only a small part of the brains' complex machinery. Here, we present a correlative framework to combine complementary imaging technique and obtain a more comprehensive view of the encephalon. The same neuron imaged in vivo with two-photon fluorescence microscopy could be retrieved ex-vivo and characterized in terms of its ultrastructural features by means of electron microscopy. On the other hand, we describe a method to integrate data from in vivo two-photon fluorescence imaging and ex vivo light sheet microscopy, based on the use of major blood vessels as reference chart. This correlative approach allows placing in a three-dimensional anatomic context the neurons whose dynamics have been observed with high detail in vivo.