Background
As neurons die and are replaced, the network between them changes. Over a prolonged period of time, a neural network may be arranged entirely differently but serve the same purpose. The neuroscience community seeks to understand the evolution of neurons within the brain, requiring prolonged measurement of specific neurons. By recording the electrical signals using array-based electrodes, neurons can indicate their role in a network and their life cycle. Currently, the best way to observe specific neurons is via electrode implantation. By placing an electrode in proximity to a neuron, it can record a neuron’s electrical activity over time. Further, an array of electrodes can observe an entire neural network. Many factors impede neuroscientists’ ability to measure brain regions over long periods, but two primary factors dominate: the brain’s defense mechanism and the size constraints of rodent models.
Client: Keith Hengen, Hengen LabProfessor Keith Hengen studies the influence of cell-level mechanisms on network topology to better understand how the brain can organize itself into stable states that permit sensation, perception, and cognition.
Dr. Hengen hopes to have a device capable of recording multiple neurons using carbon fiber recording electrodes. Having such a device will allow him to study spatial groups of neurons over several months, without doing damage to the animal’s brain. |