An intravital two photon microscopy method for imaging mouse brain tissues

The control of the efficiency of therapy on brain tissues requires an imaging at the microscopic scale and preferably in vivo. Here, we show that the intravital two-photon excited fluorescence microscopy already known for its capability in imaging the microvasculature can also be used to get three dimensional images of other cortical tissues in the brain of living mouse by taking profit of the dense capillary network to irrigate them. The technique which uses the differential imaging of two dyes: One being diffusing through the blood brain barrier, while the other don’t, gives access to tissues which are usually difficult to image in vivo.