Zapit: Open Source Laser-Scanning Photostimulation For Neuroscience

Optogenetic tools are indispensable for understanding the causal neural mechanisms underlying animal behavior, providing millisecond-precision control over genetically defined neural populations. Random-access laser-scanning optogenetics is a powerful and underutilized method for causally manipulating cortical activity in mice. Despite the utility of this technique, no general-purpose open-source implementation currently exists, and potential users need expertise across optics, real-time hardware control, and programming. This represents a major barrier to adoption, particularly for newly established research groups. Here we present ‘Zapit’, the first open-source general-purpose platform for random-access laser-scanning optogenetic experiments in head-fixed mice. Zapit is fully documented, has a user-friendly GUI, works in stereotaxic coordinates, and comes with easy to build hardware options that extend functionality beyond any published system. We validate Zapit’s performance through electrophysiological recordings and cortical photoinhibition in behaving mice. Zapit is a novel and innovative tool with the potential to democratize laser-scanning optogenetics and significantly increase uptake throughout the scientific community.