Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2021
Abstract
Objective. To understand neural circuit dynamics, it is critical to manipulate and record many individual neurons. Traditional recording methods, such as glass microelectrodes, can only control a small number of neurons. More recently, devices with high electrode density have been developed, but few of them can be used for intracellular recording or stimulation in intact nervous systems. Carbon fiber electrodes (CFEs) are 8 µm-diameter electrodes that can be assembled into dense arrays (pitches 80 µm). They have good signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and provide stable extracellular recordings both acutely and chronically in neural tissue in vivo (e.g. rat motor cortex). The small fiber size suggests that arrays could be used for intracellular stimulation. Approach. We tested CFEs for intracellular stimulation using the large identified and electrically compact neurons of the marine mollusk Aplysia californica. Neuron cell bodies in Aplysia range from 30 µm to over 250 µm. We compared the efficacy of CFEs to glass microelectrodes by impaling the same neuron's cell body with both electrodes and connecting them to a DC coupled amplifier. Main results. We observed that intracellular waveforms were essentially identical, but the amplitude and SNR in the CFE were lower than in the glass microelectrode. CFE arrays could record from 3 to 8 neurons simultaneously for many hours, and many of these recordings were intracellular, as shown by simultaneous glass microelectrode recordings. CFEs coated with platinum-iridium could stimulate and had stable impedances over many hours. CFEs not within neurons could record local extracellular activity. Despite the lower SNR, the CFEs could record synaptic potentials. CFEs were less sensitive to mechanical perturbations than glass microelectrodes. Significance. The ability to do stable multi-channel recording while stimulating and recording intracellularly make CFEs a powerful new technology for studying neural circuit dynamics.
Keywords
electrode array, intracellular recording, sub-threshold neural activity
Language
English
Publication Title
Journal of Neural Engineering
Rights
© 2021 The Author(s). This is an Open Access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Huan Y, Gill JP, Fritzinger JB, Patel PR, Richie JM, Della Valle E, Weiland JD, Chestek CA, Chiel HJ. Carbon fiber electrodes for intracellular recording and stimulation. J Neural Eng. 2021 Dec 14;18(6):10.1088/1741-2552/ac3dd7. doi: 10.1088/1741-2552/ac3dd7. PMID: 34826825; PMCID: PMC10729305.
Manuscript Version
Final Publisher Version