All methods described have been approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology.
1. Preparing the Micro-drive and Electrode
2. Surgery for Fixation of the Hat on the Skull
All tools used for surgery are sterilized beforehand by autoclaving. A dry heat beads device is used forto sterilize tools that become contaminated and need to be sterilized during the surgery.
3. Behavioral Training
4. Implantation of the Silicon Probe
5. Recording
6. Recovering the probe
A mouse was first trained to run on a two-meter long belt devoid of cues (Figure 1C). Following electrode implantation, a new belt of the same length but presenting 3 pairs of cues was installed on the treadmill, in order to generate allocentric spatial representations12,14. Broadband signals were recorded at a sampling rate of 30,000 Hz, using a 250-channel recording system (amplifier board with USB interface board and custom-made Labview interface) and two silicon probes (Figure 1A, 4 shanks, 8 sites per shanks) implanted in CA1 and CA3 (Figure 1B). Units were detected using a threshold function on the high-pass filtered signals (0.8-5 kHz). Cell isolation was performed using a semi-automatic spike sorting method15,16,17. The forward/backward motion of the treadmill was monitored using LED and photo-sensor couples and recorded by digital input channels of the recording system.
An average of 148±35 cells (mean±s.e.m) could be isolated in each session, among which 38.4±3.5% showed clear place field activity (Figure 2). The place fields were relatively stable across many trials, in either the initial day of recording (Figure 2A) or after several days of exposure to the cued belt (Figure 2B and Figure 2C). Different types of spatial representations could be discerned. Some cells showed repeated place fields correlated with the identity of the cues (Figure 2A), while other cells showed a unique place field (Figure 2C)12. Hence, we could record hippocampal place cells over several days and identify a diversity of place field mechanisms, two important requisites for studying the mechanisms and dynamics associated with spatial navigation, learning, and memory.
Figure 1: Silicon probe and treadmill apparatus. (A) Shank and site layout of silicon probe. (B) Implantation site. (C) Treadmill apparatus and layout of cues on the belt. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Chronic recording of place cells. (A) Color coded representation of place fields (top), spike auto-correlogram (bottom left) and spike waveforms (bottom right) for a cell example recorded on day 1. (B-C) Same as (A) for cells examples recorded on day 3 (B) and day 5 (C). Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Silicon Probe | Neuronexus | Buzsabi32 | Recording electrode |
Recording system | Intantech | RHD2132/RHD2000 | |
3D printer | Asiga | Pico Plus 27 | High resolution printer for micro-drive |
3D printer | Stratasys | Mojo | Lower resolution printer for hat components |
Stereotaxic apparatus | Kopf | Model 963 | |
Binocular microscope | Leica | M60 | |
Treadmill apparatus | We build them |
An important requisite for understanding brain function is the identification of behavior and cell activity correlates. Silicon probes are advanced electrodes for large-scale electrophysiological recording of neuronal activity, but the procedures for their chronic implantation are still underdeveloped. The activity of hippocampal place cells is known to correlate with an animal's position in the environment, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. To investigate place cells, here we describe a set of techniques which range from the fabrication of devices for chronic silicon probe implants to the monitoring of place field activity in a cue-enriched treadmill apparatus. A micro-drive and a hat are built by fitting and fastening together 3D-printed plastic parts. A silicon probe is mounted on the micro-drive, cleaned, and coated with dye. A first surgery is performed to fix the hat on the skull of a mouse. Small landmarks are fabricated and attached to the belt of a treadmill. The mouse is trained to run head-fixed on the treadmill. A second surgery is performed to implant the silicon probe in the hippocampus, following which broadband electrophysiological signals are recorded. Finally, the silicon probe is recovered and cleaned for reuse. The analysis of place cell activity in the treadmill reveals a diversity of place field mechanisms, outlining the benefit of the approach.
An important requisite for understanding brain function is the identification of behavior and cell activity correlates. Silicon probes are advanced electrodes for large-scale electrophysiological recording of neuronal activity, but the procedures for their chronic implantation are still underdeveloped. The activity of hippocampal place cells is known to correlate with an animal's position in the environment, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. To investigate place cells, here we describe a set of techniques which range from the fabrication of devices for chronic silicon probe implants to the monitoring of place field activity in a cue-enriched treadmill apparatus. A micro-drive and a hat are built by fitting and fastening together 3D-printed plastic parts. A silicon probe is mounted on the micro-drive, cleaned, and coated with dye. A first surgery is performed to fix the hat on the skull of a mouse. Small landmarks are fabricated and attached to the belt of a treadmill. The mouse is trained to run head-fixed on the treadmill. A second surgery is performed to implant the silicon probe in the hippocampus, following which broadband electrophysiological signals are recorded. Finally, the silicon probe is recovered and cleaned for reuse. The analysis of place cell activity in the treadmill reveals a diversity of place field mechanisms, outlining the benefit of the approach.
An important requisite for understanding brain function is the identification of behavior and cell activity correlates. Silicon probes are advanced electrodes for large-scale electrophysiological recording of neuronal activity, but the procedures for their chronic implantation are still underdeveloped. The activity of hippocampal place cells is known to correlate with an animal's position in the environment, but the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. To investigate place cells, here we describe a set of techniques which range from the fabrication of devices for chronic silicon probe implants to the monitoring of place field activity in a cue-enriched treadmill apparatus. A micro-drive and a hat are built by fitting and fastening together 3D-printed plastic parts. A silicon probe is mounted on the micro-drive, cleaned, and coated with dye. A first surgery is performed to fix the hat on the skull of a mouse. Small landmarks are fabricated and attached to the belt of a treadmill. The mouse is trained to run head-fixed on the treadmill. A second surgery is performed to implant the silicon probe in the hippocampus, following which broadband electrophysiological signals are recorded. Finally, the silicon probe is recovered and cleaned for reuse. The analysis of place cell activity in the treadmill reveals a diversity of place field mechanisms, outlining the benefit of the approach.