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Neuroscience JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Multi-electrode Array Recordings of Neuronal Avalanches in Organotypic Cultures

DOI: 10.3791/2949-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Prepare glass chambers with integrated multi-electrode arrays for neuronal recording
  • ✓ Dissect and mount cortical and VTA tissue on MEA devices
  • ✓ Record spontaneous and evoked neural activity using planar electrode arrays
  • ✓ Identify neuronal avalanches as scale-invariant activity patterns in cultured cortex
Protocol

A robust way to study neuronal avalanches, i.e. scale-invariant spatio-temporal activity bursts, indicative of critical state dynamics in cortex. Avalanches emerge spontaneously in developing superficial layers of cultured cortex which allows for long-term measurements of the activity with planar integrated multi-electrode arrays (MEA) under precisely controlled conditions.

Difficulty
advanced
Total time
~7-10 days (tissue culture maturation) + ~2-3 hours per recording session
Model organism
Rat cortex and ventral tegmental area organotypic culture
Biosafety
BSL-1

Steps

1
Prepare glass chamber with integrated microelectrode arrays

Set up planar MEA devices in glass chambers with appropriate substrate coating and sterilization to ensure proper electrode contact and long-term culture viability.

▶ 02:09
2
Dissect cortex and ventral tegmental area tissue

Extract cortical and VTA tissue from rat brain using standard dissection techniques under a stereomicroscope, maintaining tissue integrity for subsequent culture.

▶ 05:00
3
Mount cortex and VTA tissue slices on MEA

Position dissected tissue explants onto the electrode array surface within the glass chamber, ensuring proper orientation and contact with recording electrodes.

▶ 08:46
4
Record spontaneous and stimulus-evoked neural activity

Acquire electrophysiological signals from multiple electrodes during spontaneous activity and in response to applied stimuli, capturing spatio-temporal neuronal dynamics.

▶ 11:20
5
Analyze MEA recording results for avalanche patterns

Process recorded multi-electrode signals to identify and characterize neuronal avalanches as scale-invariant activity bursts indicative of critical state dynamics.

▶ 13:38
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