Rapid adaptive optics enabling near noninvasive high-resolution brain imaging in awake behaving mice

High-resolution imaging under physiological conditions is essential for studying biological mechanisms and disease processes. However, achieving this goal remains challenging due to optical aberrations and scattering from heterogeneous tissue structures, compounded by motion artifacts from awake animals. In this study, we developed a rapid and accurate adaptive optics system called multiplexing digital focus sensing anrobod shaping (MD-FSS) for deep-tissue multiphoton microscopy. Under two-photon excitation, MD-FSS precisely measures the aberrated point spread function in approximately 0.1 s per measurement, effectively compensating for both aberrations and scattering to achieve subcellular resolution in deep tissue. Using MD-FSS integrated with two-photon microscopy, we achieved high-resolution brain imaging through thinned or optically cleared skull windows, two near noninvasive methods to access mouse brain, reaching depths up to 600 μm below the pia in awake behaving mice. Our findings revealed significant differences in microglial functional states and microvascular circulation dynamics between awake and anesthetized conditions, highlighting the importance of studying brain function in awake mice through noninvasive methods. We captured functional imaging of fine neuronal structures at subcellular level in both somatosensory and visual cortices. Additionally, we demonstrated high-resolution imaging of microvascular structures and neurovascular coupling across multiple cortical regions and depths in the awake brain. Our work shows that MD-FSS accurately corrects tissue-induced aberrations and scattering through rapid PSF measurements, enabling near-noninvasive, high-resolution imaging in awake, behaving mice. The authors present the adaptive optics system MD-FSS, which allows high-resolution brain imaging in awake mice with rapid aberrations correction against motion. It reveals differences in brain function between awake and anesthetized states, improving our understanding of neurovascular dynamics.