Burst Detection Methods.

'Bursting', defined as periods of high-frequency firing of a neuron separated by periods of quiescence, has been observed in various neuronal systems, both in vitro and in vivo. It has been associated with a range of neuronal processes, including efficient information transfer and the formation of functional networks during development, and has been shown to be sensitive to genetic and pharmacological manipulations. Accurate detection of periods of bursting activity is thus an important aspect of characterising both spontaneous and evoked neuronal network activity.

meaRtools: An R package for the analysis of neuronal networks recorded on microelectrode arrays.

Here we present an open-source R package 'meaRtools' that provides a platform for analyzing neuronal networks recorded on Microelectrode Arrays (MEAs). Cultured neuronal networks monitored with MEAs are now being widely used to characterize in vitro models of neurological disorders and to evaluate pharmaceutical compounds. meaRtools provides core algorithms for MEA spike train analysis, feature extraction, statistical analysis and plotting of multiple MEA recordings with multiple genotypes and treatments.

Characterization of Early Cortical Neural Network Development in Multiwell Microelectrode Array Plates.

We examined neural network ontogeny using microelectrode array (MEA) recordings made in multiwell MEA (mwMEA) plates over the first 12 days in vitro (DIV). In primary cortical cultures, action potential spiking activity developed rapidly between DIV 5 and 12. Spiking was sporadic and unorganized at early DIV, and became progressively more organized with time, with bursting parameters, synchrony, and network bursting increasing between DIV 5 and 12.

Quantitative differences in developmental profiles of spontaneous activity in cortical and hippocampal cultures.

Background: Neural circuits can spontaneously generate complex spatiotemporal firing patterns during development. This spontaneous activity is thought to help guide development of the nervous system. In this study, we had two aims.