MULTIELECTRODE ARRAYS FOR OLFACTORY INVESTIGATIONS

该提案解决了由国家耳聋和其他交流障碍研究所确定的“适应用于化学感觉电生理研究的多阵列电极”的需求。我们的目标是开发一个基于生物学的嗅觉识别系统。一个100个电极的阵列将被修改，以提供工具和技术，可用于神经科学家在嗅觉系统的调查。这些工具还将为军方和执法部门开发用于探测爆炸物和滥用药物的植入动物奠定基础。第一阶段将证明使用这些阵列作为工具和技术的基础上的嗅球的电生理研究的可行性。急性植入大鼠将验证，嗅觉驱动的反应可以记录，并使用同时记录从大量的神经元在嗅球将调查其潜在的应用程序，以区分嗅觉。第二阶段将进一步开发这些工具，以研究嗅球中大量尖峰神经元的同时记录是否可用于可靠地区分各种各样的嗅觉。拟议的商业应用：慢性和急性系统将销售给世界各地的研究人员，用于使用大鼠和狗等动物受试者研究嗅觉过程。该系统还将进行调整，以植入动物体内，用于检测军方和执法部门滥用的爆炸物和毒品

This proposal addresses the need, identified by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, for the "Adaptation of multiple array electrodes for use in chemosensory electrophysiological studies". The goal is the development of a biologically-based olfactant recognition system. A 100-electrode array will be modified to provide tools and techniques that can be used by neuroscientists in the investigation of the olfactory system. These tools will also provide the basis for the development of implanted animals in the detection of explosives and drugs of abuse by the military and the law enforcement communities. Phase I will demonstrate the feasibility of using these arrays as the basis for tools and techniques for the electrophysiological study of the olfactory bulb. Acute implantation in rats will verify that olfactant-driven responses can be recorded, and the use of simultaneous recordings from large populations of neurons in olfactory bulb will be investigated for their potential application to discriminating olfactants. Phase II will further develop these tools to study whether simultaneous recordings from large numbers of spiking neurons in the olfactory bulb can be used to reliably discriminate between a large variety of olfactants. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS: The chronic and acute systems will be marketed to researchers worldwide for the investigation of olfactory processes using animal subjects such as rats and dogs. The system will also be adapted to implantation in animals for the detection of explosives and drugs of abuse by the military and the law enforcement communities