FiPhA: an open-source platform for fiber photometry analysis.

Abstract

Significance: Fiber photometry (FP) is a widely used technique in modern behavioral neuroscience, employing genetically encoded fluorescent sensors to monitor neural activity and neurotransmitter release in awake-behaving animals. However, analyzing photometry data can be both laborious and time-consuming.

Aim: We propose the fiber photometry analysis (FiPhA) app, which is a general-purpose FP analysis application. The goal is to develop a pipeline suitable for a wide range of photometry approaches, including spectrally resolved, camera-based, and lock-in demodulation.

Approach: FiPhA was developed using the R Shiny framework and offers interactive visualization, quality control, and batch processing functionalities in a user-friendly interface.

Results: This application simplifies and streamlines the analysis process, thereby reducing labor and time requirements. It offers interactive visualizations, event-triggered average processing, powerful tools for filtering behavioral events, and quality control features.

Conclusions: FiPhA is a valuable tool for behavioral neuroscientists working with discrete, event-based FP data. It addresses the challenges associated with analyzing and investigating such data, offering a robust and user-friendly solution without the complexity of having to hand-design custom analysis pipelines. This application thus helps standardize an approach to FP analysis.