PhAT: A flexible open-source GUI-driven toolkit for photometry analysis (original) (raw)

ABSTRACTPhotometry approaches detect sensor-mediated changes in fluorescence as a proxy for rapid molecular changes within the brain. As a flexible technique with a relatively low cost to implement, photometry is rapidly being incorporated into neuroscience laboratories. While multiple data acquisition systems for photometry now exist, robust analytical pipelines for the resulting data remain limited. Here we present thePhotometryAnalysisToolkit (PhAT) - a free open source analysis pipeline that provides options for signal normalization, incorporation of multiple data streams to align photometry data with behavior and other events, calculation of event-related changes in fluorescence, and comparison of similarity across fluorescent traces. A graphical user interface (GUI) enables use of this software without prior coding knowledge. In addition to providing foundational analytical tools, PhAT is designed to readily incorporate community-driven development of new modules for more besp...