CENTER FOR NEURAL COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

该中心提案的主要目的是让调查人员 神经生物学与神经系统建立更丰富的交流 通过使用在硅上构建的多通道薄膜器件 印刷受体.最终目标是提供观察和 影响几十个细胞的活动， 它们的神经回路和几何关系 其中有一个重要的服务和技术转让组成部分 中心该中心将向调查人员介绍这项技术， 以及制造定制器件所需的设计方法。的 中心将向用户分发系统， 密歇根大学的实验室。已经有一个丰富的 已成功用于神经生物学的器械目录 全球实验室将举办一次研讨会， 了解这些设备的未来可能性，并鼓励 让更多的中心参与开发和使用这一技术的研究， 技术. 有四个核心研究项目。两个将集中精力扩大 该技术从其目前的重点是使用 硬连线互连系统，化学试剂和电磁 通信其余两个项目致力于提取， 从实验组织中获取尽可能多的信息。系统科学 将进行研究， 在细胞之间使用信号处理技术对记录的电位 by arrays阵列of sensors传感器.将采用逻辑和统计方案， 推导出三维时细胞间的电路关系， 将采用组织分析来暗示精确的几何形状， 记录细胞之间的关系。

The major thrust of this center proposal is to allow investigators in neurobiology to establish a richer communication with the nervous system through the use of multichannel thin-film devices constructed on silicon substrates. The ultimate goal is to provide the ability to observe and influence the activity of dozens of cells and later be able to deduce their neural circuit and geometric relationships. There is a significant service and technology transfer component to this center. The Center will educate investigators on the technology, its use and the design methods required for fabrication of custom devices. The Center will distribute systems to users which have been prepared in the laboratories of the University of Michigan. There already exists a rich catalog of devices which have been successfully used in neurobiology laboratories world-wide. A symposium will be hosted to heighten the awareness of future possibilities for these devices and encourage the engagement of more centers in research on development and use of this technology. There are four core research projects. Two will concentrate on extending the technology from its present focus on electrical communication using a hardwired interconnect system, to chemical agents and electromagnetic communication. The remaining two projects are dedicated to extracting as much information from the experimental tissue as possible. Systems science studies will be carried out which will seek to decode the relationships among cells using signal processing techniques on the potentials recorded by arrays of sensors. Logical and statistical schemes will be employed to deduce the circuit relationships among cells while three dimensional analysis of the tissue will be employed to imply the exact geometric relationships among cells being recorded.