Developing a new computer-assisted data adquisition and analysis systems for in vivo electrophysiological experiments in the mamalian central nervous system

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This study was aimed at developing a computer-assisted recording system for electrophysiological data in in vivo experiments of the mammalian central nervous system. In an electrophysiological experiment of the mammalian central nervous system, we stimulate a certain structure, record electrical potentials from inside a neuron and analyze the neural connections between them. Intracellular recording is very difficult and it is much harder to keep recording from a cell for a long time. To record as much data as possible for a limited period, many researchers use a data recorder to acquire the data. This is convenient for off-line data analysis. On the other hand, we also have to record various parameters which are used for stimulation and recording. These values are usually written down on a notebook or recorded on a voice channel on a tape. For later analysis of the data on a computer, these parameters were typed from a key board. It takes a long time for acquiring the data into the computer and also typing the necessary parameters. Therefore, it is desirable that we will develop a new recording system for neurophysiological experiments which wll speed up recording and analytical procedures. There are several commercially available computer-assisted system for neurophysiological data acquisition and analysis. However, these systems are only useful for patch clamp experiments or unit recording in chronic electrophysiological experiments because of their slow data acquisition capability. We made a new stimulator which could tell the computer all necessary stimulus parameters by digital signals. Computer software was developed to acquire data, and display and store data simultaneously at high frequencies. With this new stimulating and recording systems, we speed up the recording procedure and get more data for a limited period. Furthermore, it is much easier and faster to analyze data on a computer.