An ultimate goal of neuroscience is to decipher the principles underlying neuronal information processing at the molecular, cellular, circuit, and system levels. The advent of miniature fluorescence microscopy has furthered the quest by visualizing brain activities and structural dynamics in animals engaged in self-determined behaviors. In this brief review, we summarize recent advances in miniature fluorescence microscopy for neuroscience, focusing mostly on two mainstream solutions – miniature single-photon microscopy, and miniature two-photon microscopy. We discuss their technical advantages and limitations as well as unmet challenges for future improvement. Examples of preliminary applications are also presented to reflect on a new trend of brain imaging in experimental paradigms involving body movements, long and complex protocols, and even disease progression and aging.

神经科学的最终目标是破译分子、细胞、电路和系统水平上神经元信息处理的原理。微型荧光显微镜的出现通过可视化从事自我决定行为的动物的大脑活动和结构动力学进一步推动了这一探索。在这篇简短的评论中，我们总结了神经科学微型荧光显微镜的最新进展，主要关注两种主流解决方案——微型单光子显微镜和微型双光子显微镜。我们讨论它们的技术优势和局限性以及未来改进中未解决的挑战。还提出了初步应用的例子，以反映脑成像在实验范式中的新趋势，涉及身体运动、漫长而复杂的方案，甚至疾病进展和衰老。