256 Channel Cerebus Data Acquisition System

描述(申请人提供)：在过去的50年里，关于大脑不同部分的神经元如何对传入的感觉信号做出反应并发出命令来移动我们的身体，人们已经了解了大量的知识。尽管取得了这些成就，但我们对大脑功能和大多数大脑疾病的缓解还远未完全了解。必须解决的一个根本挑战是需要在不止一个尺度上同时研究该系统。一方面，理解单个神经元的处理过程是至关重要的。然而，阐明信息如何跨神经元和大脑区域分布并整合以产生单一感知和运动行为也是至关重要的。单个神经元的微电极记录具有高度的“局部性”；从单个细胞记录到相互作用的群体很难推断。另一方面，全脑成像技术，如功能磁共振成像(FMRI)，牺牲了空间和时间分辨率来实现其全局视野。虽然这些方法有助于揭示与各种知觉或运动状态相关的大脑活动模式，但空间分辨率(毫米与微米)和时间分辨率(秒与毫秒)的损失，虽然有利于人脑成像，但使这些更全球化的技术直接检查神经回路变得极其困难。这项申请寻求资金，以获得一种最先进的录音系统，以弥合本地和全球之间的差距。该设备能够同时从数百个单独的神经元进行记录。同时，因为有两个同步记录子系统，所以有可能检查大脑活动以及大脑任何两个区域的神经元群体之间的相互作用。主要使用者要研究的神经活动是分布在大脑皮层单个视觉和运动区的模式，两个视觉或两个运动区之间的模式，以及视觉区域和运动区之间的模式。实验将使用非人类灵长类动物进行，这些灵长类动物经过训练，可以执行视觉和/或运动任务。两个微电极阵列，每个包含100个电极，将被植入大脑中特别感兴趣的区域。当动物执行训练任务时，将进行录音。这些数据将揭示单细胞尖峰和LFP与感知和行为的关系，活跃神经元之间的时间关系，以及视觉和运动系统内部和区域之间的关系。这些研究由共享仪器实现，将在我们对视觉感知、运动编码和行为的视觉-运动整合的理解方面取得重大进展。如果一个人想要减轻与创伤或疾病相关的大脑疾病，这种类型的信息是至关重要的。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Over the past 50 years a tremendous amount has been learned about how neurons in different parts of the brain respond to incoming sensory signals and send out commands to move our bodies. Despite these achievements, we are far from a complete understanding of brain function and alleviation of most brain disorders. A fundamental challenge that must be addressed is the need to study the system simultaneously at more than one scale. On the one hand, it is essential that processing by single neurons be understood. Yet it is also critical to elucidate the ways in which information is distributed across neurons and brain areas and integrated to give rise to unitary percepts and motor acts. Microelectrode recordings of individual neurons are highly "local"; it is difficult to extrapolate from single cell recordings to interacting populations. On the other hand, whole brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) sacrifice both spatial and temporal resolution to achieve their global view. While such methods have helped reveal patterns of brain activity associated with various perceptual or motor states, the loss in spatial resolution (millimeters vs. microns) and temporal resolution (seconds vs. milliseconds), while good for human brain imaging, make direct examination of neural circuits by these more global techniques extremely difficult. This application seeks funding to obtain a state-of-the-art recording system that will bridge the local-global gap. The device gives the capability to record simultaneously from hundreds of individual neurons. At the same time, because there are two synchronized recording subsystems, it is possible to examine brain activity and interactions between populations of neurons in any two areas of the brain. The neural activity to be studied by the major users is patterns spread across individual visual and motor areas of cerebral cortex, patterns between two visual or two motor areas, and patterns between a visual area and a motor area. The experiments will be conducted using non-human primates trained to perform visual and/or motor tasks. Two microelectrode arrays, each holding 100 electrodes will be implanted in brain regions of particular interest. Recordings will be made while animals perform trained tasks. The data will reveal single-cell spiking and LFP relationships with perception and behavior, temporal relationships between active neurons, and the relationships between areas within and between the visual and motor systems. These studies, made possible by the shared instrument, will lead to major advances in our understanding of visual perception, motor coding, and visuo-motor integration for behavior. It is this type of information that is critical if one is to alleviate brain disorders associated with trauma or disease.