Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40542182›Full record

ReviewNature reviews. Neuroscience2025

Three-photon microscopy: an emerging technique for deep intravital brain imaging.

Robert Prevedel, Júlia Ferrer Ortas, Jason N D Kerr, Jack Waters, Michael O Breckwoldt, Benjamin Deneen, Michelle Monje, Stella J Soyka, Varun Venkataramani

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Nature reviews. Neuroscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Closing the Loop: High-Precision 3D Photofabrication in Living Tissues.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026
    Article
  3. Preclinical in-vivo cerebrovascular imaging in rodent models: Methods and applications in Alzheimer's disease.Journal of cerebral blood flow and metabolism : official journal of the International Society of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. Endothelial Continuum and Capillary Specialization in Pulmonary Vascular Development.Arteriosclerosis, thrombosis, and vascular biology · 2026
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Article
  12. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Robert PrevedelCell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany. prevedel@embl.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3366-4703
Júlia Ferrer OrtasCell Biology and Biophysics Unit, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9620-8428
Jason N D KerrDepartment of Behavior and Brain Organization, Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior, Bonn, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9459-883X
Jack WatersAllen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2312-4183
Michael O BreckwoldtNeuroradiology Department, Division of Immuno-Imaging, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9980-2390
Benjamin DeneenDepartment of Neurosurgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
Michelle MonjeDepartment of Neurology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3547-237X
Stella J SoykaNeurology Clinic, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.
Varun VenkataramaniNeurology Clinic, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. varun.venkataramani@med.uni-heidelberg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2927-0886

Funding

Dissemination of 3-photon imaging for chronic cellular imaging across speciesU01NS115585 · NINDS · ALLEN INSTITUTE · PI WATERS, JACK · 2020 to 2025
$2.9M
NINDS NIH HHS U01 NS115585
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding brain function and pathology requires observation of cellular dynamics within intact neural circuits. Although two-photon microscopy revolutionized mammalian in vivo brain imaging, its limitation to upper cortical layers has restricted access to many important brain regions. Three-photon microscopy overcomes this constraint, enabling minimally invasive yet high-resolution visualization of the deep cortical and subcortical structures that are crucial for higher-order brain functions. This emerging technology opens new avenues for investigating fundamental aspects of neuroscience, from circuit dynamics to disease mechanisms. Here, we examine how three-photon microscopy has started to transform our ability to investigate neural circuits, glial biology, and oncological and neuroimmune interactions in previously inaccessible brain regions, primarily in the mouse, but also in other model organisms. We discuss current technical challenges, recent innovations and future applications that promise to bring us greater understanding of the living brain.

Indexed as

BrainIntravital MicroscopyMicroscopy, Fluorescence, MultiphotonNeuroimagingAnimalsHumansMice

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.