Micromechanical Engineering of Connectivity in Living Neural Networks

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To facilitate the development of theories for biological information processing, it would be useful to have a system that permits a priori specification of the connection in a neural network. By defining the connectivity in a neural network, the system will allow rapid prototyping of arbitrary neuronal architectures. Ideally, such a system would be able to not only recapitulate in vivo structure, but also be able to create novel neural structures in a user-defined manner. Such user-defined networks will then allow more rigorous testing of theories for biological information processing in the nervous system and will potential result in the identification of novel information processing paradigms in general. In this project, the following issues will be addressed:a) Identify the determinants of successful neurite elicitation under applied force.b) Compare engineered network behavior to model network behavior to assess whether neuronal information processing is linear or nonlinear.c) Develop approaches to scale-up that allow multiple connections to be formed.