Multicellular recording system to investigate central nervous system dynamics

在大脑中，特定的神经活动模式产生于成千上万的神经元同时被激活，这些神经元以一种非常特定的方式相互连接，向整个网络传递独特的属性。因此，如果我们想要研究神经元是如何相互交流的，我们需要同时记录来自多个细胞的信息。多亏了新技术，这现在成为可能。神经元产生的脉冲可以用检测电活动的电极记录下来。许多这样的电极的大型阵列现在是可用的，使我们能够同时从几十个地点进行记录。另一方面，光学记录可以让我们看到各种离子的浓度变化，当它们流过活跃神经元的膜时，这些离子参与了神经活动的控制。这些离子通量可能与神经兴奋或抑制有关，因此不一定反映脉冲的产生。总的来说，大规模神经网络上的电和光记录的结合提供了一个强大的工具，帮助我们更详细地了解神经元通信的机制。在本提案中，我们打算建立一个最先进的系统，使我们能够在对神经元活动进行高分辨率成像的同时，从60个电极阵列进行电记录。该系统将用于几个项目，从研究胚胎视网膜网络的行为到与各种认知状态相关的皮层和海马振荡的产生和控制。此外，它还代表了一种宝贵的实验工具，可以帮助设计一种设备，这种设备具有巨大的潜力，可以成为开发视网膜植入物的平台，帮助恢复视网膜营养不良疾病后受损的视觉感知。

In the brain, specific neural activity patterns arise from the simultaneous activation of thousands or millions of neurones interconnected in a very specific way, conveying unique properties to the entire network. Therefore, if we want to investigate how neurones communicate with each other, we need to record from many cells simultaneously. Thanks to new technologies, this is now possible. Impulses generated by neurones can be recorded with electrodes that detect electrical activity. Large arrays of many of these electrodes are now available, enabling us to record simultaneously from dozens of sites. Optical recordings, on the other hand, allow us to visualise changes in the concentration of various ions that are involved in the control of neural activity, while they are flowing across the membrane of the active neurones. These ionic fluxes can be linked either to neural excitation or inhibition and are therefore not necessarily reflecting impulse generation. Taken together, the combination of electrical and optical recordings over large-scale neuronal networks provides a powerful tool to help us understand the mechanisms of neuronal communication in much greater detail. In this proposal, we intend to establish a state-of-the-art system that will allow us to perform electrical recordings from a 60-electrode array at the same time as high resolution imaging of neuronal activity. The system will be used for several projects, ranging from investigating the behaviour of embryonic retinal networks to the generation and control of cortical and hippocampal oscillations associated with various cognitive states. Moreover, it will also represent an invaluable experimental tool to help in the design of a device that has the huge potential to become the platform for the development of a retinal implant that could help restore impaired visual perception following retinal dystrophic diseases.