Event Abstract

Analyzing Recurrent Activity in Acute Cortical Slices Using High-Density Microelectrode Arrays

  • 1 ETH Zürich, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Switzerland
  • 2 ETH Zurich, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Switzerland
  • 3 Riken, Quantitative Biology Center, Japan

Motivation Several patterns of activity have been observed in the neocortex by using multi-electrode configurations including waves, oscillations, and avalanches (Beggs and Plenz, 2003; Sanchez-Vives and McCormick, 2000). An avalanche refers to a cascade of bursts of neuronal activity whose size distribution (i.e., the number of electrodes involved in the avalanche or the amplitude of local field potentials) can be approximated by a power law (Beggs and Plenz, 2003). In order to reveal the origin and underlying function of such spontaneously recurring activities, it is necessary to record high quality signals by using a high-resolution device. Here, we demonstrate that by using high-density microelectrode arrays (HDMEAs), local field potentials (LFPs) and extracellular action potentials (EAPs) during avalanches can be simultaneously recorded from mice acute cortical slices. We found that avalanches can initiate propagating action potentials across cortical areas. Material and Methods All experimental procedures were approved and executed in accordance to RIKEN Guidelines. Wild-type CD-1 mice (P18 to P23) were deeply anaesthetized by isoflurane inhalation and decapitated. Coronal prefrontal cortical slices were obtained. The slices were transferred to carbogen-bubbled warm artificial cerebrospinal fluid (35¡C) and were allowed to recover in incubation for at least 40 minutes before recording. We used a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) based HDMEA with a total of 11,011 microelectrodes at 3150 electrodes/mm2 density (Frey et al., 2009). Slices were carefully positioned evenly on the HDMEA surface for recording and kept in place by using a custom-made weight consisting of a small platinum ring and an attached transparent membrane. Results and Discussion Slow recurrent spontaneous activity persists in acute cortical slices. Spike bursts occurred with the LFP and initiated propagating action potentials across cortical areas. Such propagating spike bursts can be considered as avalanches. We estimated the observed activity to originate and spread from the upper layers (L2/3) of the cortical slice and to then propagate to lower layers (L5/6). Conclusion We have shown that HDMEAs can be used to simultaneously record LFPs and EAPs from acute cortical slices. Array-wide recordings revealed propagating action potentials across cortical areas during avalanches. Local high-density recordings allowed for localization of the avalanche starting points and the tracking of the avalanche propagation in great detail. EAP and LFP propagation in cortical slices provides insights in how cells are connected and form microcircuits that are involved in such recurrent activity. References Beggs, J. M., and Plenz, D. (2003). Neuronal Avalanches in Neocortical Circuits. J. Neurosci. 23, 11167Ð11177. doi:23/35/11167. Frey, U., Egert, U., Heer, F., Hafizovic, S., and Hierlemann, A. (2009). Microelectronic system for high-resolution mapping of extracellular electric fields applied to brain slices. Biosens. Bioelectron. 24, 2191-2198. doi:10.1016/j.bios.2008.11.028. Sanchez-Vives, M. V, and McCormick, D. a (2000). Cellular and network mechanisms of rhythmic recurrent activity in neocortex. Nat. Neurosci. 3, 1027-1034. doi:10.1038/79848.

Acknowledgements

Financial support through the ERC Advanced Grant 267351 "NeuroCMOS" and the Swiss National Science Foundation Grant 205321_157092/1 is acknowledged.

Keywords: local field potential, Avalanche, cortical slice, Extracellular action potential, HDMEA

Conference: MEA Meeting 2016 | 10th International Meeting on Substrate-Integrated Electrode Arrays, Reutlingen, Germany, 28 Jun - 1 Jul, 2016.

Presentation Type: Poster Presentation

Topic: MEA Meeting 2016

Citation: J. Obien ME, Hierlemann A and Frey U (2016). Analyzing Recurrent Activity in Acute Cortical Slices Using High-Density Microelectrode Arrays. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: MEA Meeting 2016 | 10th International Meeting on Substrate-Integrated Electrode Arrays. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2016.93.00121

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Received: 22 Jun 2016; Published Online: 24 Jun 2016.

* Correspondence: Dr. Marie E J. Obien, ETH Zürich, Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering, Basel, Switzerland, marie.obien@mxwbio.com