Intracortical probe arrays with silicon backbone and microelectrodes on thin polyimide wings enable long-term stable recordings.

Recording and stimulating neuronal activity across different brain regions requires interfacing at multiple sites using dedicated tools while tissue reactions at the recording sites often prevent their successful long-term application. This implies the technological challenge of developing complex probe geometries while keeping the overall footprint minimal, and of selecting materials compatible with neural tissue. While the potential of soft materials in reducing tissue response is uncontested, the implantation of these materials is often limited to reliably target neuronal structures across large brain volumes.

Recording Quality of Mechanically Decoupled Floating Versus Skull-Fixed Silicon-Based Neural Probes.

Throughout the past decade, silicon-based neural probes have become a driving force in neural engineering. Such probes comprise sophisticated, integrated CMOS electronics which provide a large number of recording sites along slender probe shanks. Using such neural probes in a chronic setting often requires them to be mechanically anchored with respect to the skull.

Tapered Fibers Combined With a Multi-Electrode Array for Optogenetics in Mouse Medial Prefrontal Cortex.

Optogenetics offers many advantages in terms of cell-type specificity, allowing to investigate functional connectivity between different brain areas at high spatial and neural population selectivity. In order to obtain simultaneous optical control and electrical readout of neural activity, devices called "optrodes" are employed. They are typically composed of a linear array of microelectrodes integrated on a slender probe shafts combined with flat-cleaved optical fibers (FF) placed above the recording sites.

Integration of silicon-based neural probes and micro-drive arrays for chronic recording of large populations of neurons in behaving animals.

Objective: Understanding how neuronal assemblies underlie cognitive function is a fundamental question in system neuroscience. It poses the technical challenge to monitor the activity of populations of neurons, potentially widely separated, in relation to behaviour. In this paper, we present a new system which aims at simultaneously recording from a large population of neurons from multiple separated brain regions in freely behaving animals.

Oscillatory activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens correlates with impulsivity and reward outcome.

Actions expressed prematurely without regard for their consequences are considered impulsive. Such behaviour is governed by a network of brain regions including the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and nucleus accumbens (NAcb) and is prevalent in disorders including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and drug addiction. However, little is known of the relationship between neural activity in these regions and specific forms of impulsive behaviour.

Application of floating silicon-based linear multielectrode arrays for acute recording of single neuron activity in awake behaving monkeys.

One of the fundamental challenges in behavioral neurophysiology in awake animals is the steady recording of action potentials of many single neurons for as long as possible. Here, we present single neuron data obtained during acute recordings mainly from premotor cortices of three macaque monkeys using a silicon-based linear multielectrode array. The most important aspect of these probes, compared with similar models commercially available, is that, once inserted into the brain using a dedicated insertion device providing an intermediate probe fixation by means of vacuum, they can be released and left floating in the brain.

Compact wireless neural recording system for small animals using silicon-based probe arrays.

This paper reports on a compact, small-scale neural recording system combining state-of-art silicon-based probe arrays with a light-weight 32-channel wireless head stage. The system is equipped with two- and four-shaft, comb-shaped probe arrays connected to highly flexible ribbon cables enabling a reliable and controlled insertion of probe arrays through the intact dura mater into the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens of rats. The in vivo experiments applied the 5-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) using freely behaving rats in order to understand the neural basis of sustained visual attention and impulsivity.

A wireless multi-channel recording system for freely behaving mice and rats.

To understand the neural basis of behavior, it is necessary to record brain activity in freely moving animals. Advances in implantable multi-electrode array technology have enabled researchers to record the activity of neuronal ensembles from multiple brain regions. The full potential of this approach is currently limited by reliance on cable tethers, with bundles of wires connecting the implanted electrodes to the data acquisition system while impeding the natural behavior of the animal.