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A carbon-fiber electrode array for long-term neural recording.

ABSTRACT: Chronic neural recording in behaving animals is an essential method for studies of neural circuit function. However, stable recordings from small, densely packed neurons remains challenging, particularly over time-scales relevant for learning.We describe an assembly method for a 16-channel electrode array consisting of carbon fibers (<5 µm diameter) individually insulated with Parylene-C and fire-sharpened. The diameter of the array is approximately 26 µm along the full extent of the implant.Carbon fiber arrays were tested in HVC (used as a proper name), a song motor nucleus, of singing zebra finches where individual neurons discharge with temporally precise patterns. Previous reports of activity in this population of neurons have required the use of high impedance electrodes on movable microdrives. Here, the carbon fiber electrodes provided stable multi-unit recordings over time-scales of months. Spike-sorting indicated that the multi-unit signals were dominated by one, or a small number of cells. Stable firing patterns during singing confirmed the stability of these clusters over time-scales of months. In addition, from a total of 10 surgeries, 16 projection neurons were found. This cell type is characterized by sparse stereotyped firing patterns, providing unambiguous confirmation of single cell recordings.Carbon fiber electrode bundles may provide a scalable solution for long-term neural recordings of densely packed neurons.

SUBMITTER: Guitchounts G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3875136 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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A carbon-fiber electrode array for long-term neural recording.

Guitchounts Grigori G Markowitz Jeffrey E JE Liberti William A WA Gardner Timothy J TJ

Journal of neural engineering 20130717 4

<h4>Objective</h4>Chronic neural recording in behaving animals is an essential method for studies of neural circuit function. However, stable recordings from small, densely packed neurons remains challenging, particularly over time-scales relevant for learning.<h4>Approach</h4>We describe an assembly method for a 16-channel electrode array consisting of carbon fibers (<5 µm diameter) individually insulated with Parylene-C and fire-sharpened. The diameter of the array is approximately 26 µm along ...[more]

PMID: 23860226

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Project description:BackgroundMulti-electrode arrays (MEAs) have become popular tools for recording spontaneous and evoked electrical activity of excitable tissues. The majority of previous studies of synaptic transmission in brain slices employed MEAs with planar electrodes that had limited ability to detect signals coming from deeper, healthier layers of the slice. To overcome this limitation, we used three-dimensional (3D) MEAs with tip-shaped electrodes to probe plasticity of field excitatory synaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in the CA1 area of hippocampal slices of 129S5/SvEvBrd and C57BL/6J-TyrC-Brd mice.ResultsUsing 3D MEAs, we were able to record larger fEPSPs compared to signals measured by planar MEAs. Several stimulation protocols were used to induce long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic responses in the CA1 area recorded following excitation of Schäffer collateral/commissural fibres. Either two trains of high frequency tetanic stimulation or three trains of theta-burst stimulation caused a persistent, pathway specific enhancement of fEPSPs that remained significantly elevated for at least 60 min. A third LTP induction protocol that comprised 150 pulses delivered at 5 Hz, evoked moderate LTP if excitation strength was increased to 1.5x of the baseline stimulus. In all cases, we observed a clear spatial plasticity gradient with maximum LTP levels detected in proximal apical dendrites of pyramidal neurones. No significant differences in the manifestation of LTP were observed between 129S5/SvEvBrd and C57BL/6J-TyrC-Brd mice with the three protocols used. All forms of plasticity were sensitive to inhibition of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors.ConclusionPrincipal features of LTP (magnitude, pathway specificity, NMDA receptor dependence) recorded in the hippocampal slices using MEAs were very similar to those seen in conventional glass electrode experiments. Advantages of using MEAs are the ability to record from different regions of the slice and the ease of conducting several experiments on a multiplexed platform which could be useful for efficient screening of novel transgenic mice.

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A carbon-fiber electrode array for long-term neural recording.

Publications

A carbon-fiber electrode array for long-term neural recording.

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