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Neurointerfaces: Review and development

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Russian Journal of Genetics: Applied Research

Abstract

Electrical activity seems to be the key issue for disclosing information processing mechanisms in neuronal networks; however, the related phenomena such as long-term memory, learning behavior and synaptic plasticity have not been adequately understood yet on cellular level. A great challenge in the fundamental research and practical implementation of those phenomena is to build up multi-electrode array (MEA) devices for simultaneous neuronal recordings and stimulation. We outline the state-of-the-art MEA designs, development trends, and benefits and shortcomings of the MEA concept. As a rule, the general task in neurointerface designing is to achieve biocompatible, low-invasive interface performance and the spatio-temporal resolution. In this paper, we propose and describe two innovative neurointerface designs. One of these designs is introduced as a conceptual device based on a dense array of vertically standing semiconductor microtubes, which can be implemented in next-generation in vivo neuronal interfaces. Another design is a pilot in vitro MEA device included 60 planar patch-clamp electrode sites array. Here, we report results of measurements performed with the help of patch-clamp electrodes, each of the electrodes is a kind of a 2 μm diameter pipette that can be used for making contacts to the cell membrane. An advantageous feature of the method consists in that the treated cells have no immediate contact with the metal as they contact with the microchannel conducting liquid, or ionic conductor; this approach ensures more adequate measurements and, simultaneously, it improves the cell survivability during experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    S. N. Rechkunov, A. V. Prinz, V. A. Seleznev, S. V. Golod, R. A. Soots, A. I. Ivanov & V. Ya. Prinz

  2. Design Technological Institute of Digital Techniques, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russia

    A. S. Ratushnyak

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  1. S. N. Rechkunov
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  2. A. V. Prinz
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  3. V. A. Seleznev
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  4. S. V. Golod
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  8. V. Ya. Prinz
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Original Russian Text © S.N. Rechkunov, A.V. Prinz, V.A. Seleznev, S.V. Golod, R.A. Soots, A.I. Ivanov, A.S. Ratushnyak, V.Ya. Prinz, 2014, published in Vavilovskii Zhurnal Genetiki i Selektsii, 2014, Vol. 18, No. 4/3, pp. 1077–1089.

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Rechkunov, S.N., Prinz, A.V., Seleznev, V.A. et al. Neurointerfaces: Review and development. Russ J Genet Appl Res 5, 552–561 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S2079059715060143

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