Real-Time Animal Telemetry

伊利诺斯州立大学的Paul A. Garris博士获得了一笔拨款，用于开发一种新的仪器，用于无线监测清醒、不受约束的动物大脑中的神经活动。这种被称为实时动物遥测（RAT）的新仪器将结合两种强大的技术；微传感器用于空间和时间分辨测量，数字遥测用于远程数据传输和系统控制，具有高速和高保真度。RAT的主要优势将是在行为扰动最小的情况下对脑功能进行亚秒级表征。提出的RAT仪器对推进脑-行为关系的研究有很大的希望。RAT将是一种模块化和多功能仪器，其设计将促进开发并为其应用提供灵活性。几种类型的测量技术将被纳入RAT：伏安法监测大脑的化学和电生理学测量大脑的生物电活动。结合起来，这些技术评估神经递质的释放及其突触后效应，以获得对脑功能更综合的看法。尽管最近在将实时伏安法和电生理学应用于清醒的动物上取得了很大进展，但传感器和记录设备之间的连接是通过一根缆绳完成的。不幸的是，这种硬联系影响了行为，阻碍甚至阻止了对重要范式的研究，比如那些涉及社会互动和复杂环境的范式。为了克服这个问题，新仪器将使用无线连接。此外，由于实时伏安和电生理测量非常容易受到传输伪影的影响，RAT将使用高保真数字遥测技术。最终，RAT应该成为支持生物学研究的商业上可行的仪器。结合成熟的技术将使拟议的RAT仪器吸引大量在神经科学领域工作的用户。随着进一步的发展，RAT具有支持其他现有实时微传感器的巨大潜力。RAT还可以进化以适应未来出现的传感器技术。

A grant has been awarded to Dr. Paul A. Garris at Illinois State Universityto develop a new instrument for wireless monitoring of neural activity inthe brain of awake, unrestrained animals. The new instrument, calledreal-time animal telemetry (RAT), will combine two powerful technologies;microsensors for spatially and temporally resolved measurements, and digitaltelemetry for remote data transmission and system control with high speedand high fidelity. The primary advantage of RAT will be sub-secondcharacterization of brain function with minimal perturbation of behavior. The proposed RAT instrument holds great promise for advancing the study of brain-behavior relationships.RAT will be a modular and multifunctional instrument, a design that advancesdevelopment and affords flexibility to its application. Several types ofmeasurement techniques will be incorporated into RAT: Voltammetry which monitors the chemistry of the brain and electrophysiology whichmeasures brain bioelectrical activity. Combined, the techniques assess therelease of a neurotransmitter and its postsynaptic effect to obtain a moreintegrative view of brain function. Although great strides have recently been made applying real-time voltammetry and electrophysiology to awake animals, the connection between sensor and recording equipment is made by a cable tether. Unfortunately, the hard connection affects behavior and hinders or even prevents investigation of important paradigms such as those involving social interactions and complex environments. To overcome this problem, the new instrument will use a wireless link. Moreover, because real-time voltammetric and electrophysiological measurements are very susceptible to transmission artifacts, RAT will use high fidelity digital telemetry.Ultimately, RAT should be commercially viable instrumentation in the support ofbiological research. The incorporation of well-established techniques willmake the proposed RAT instrument attractive to large number of users workingin the neuroscience fields. With further development, there is enormouspotential for RAT to support other existing real-time microsensors. RAT canalso evolve to accommodate sensor technologies that emerge in the future.