PhotoMEA: An opto-electronic biosensor for monitoring in vitro neuronal network activity

PhotoMEA is a biosensor useful for the analysis of an in vitro neuronal network, fully based on optical methods. Its function is based on the stimulation of neurons with caged glutamate and the recording of neuronal activity by Voltage-Sensitive fluorescent Dyes (VSD). The main advantage is that it will be possible to stimulate even at sub-single neuron level and to record with high resolution the activity of the entire network in the culture. A large-scale view of neuronal intercommunications offers a unique opportunity for testing the ability of drugs to affect neuronal properties as well as alterations in the behaviour of the entire network. The concept and a prototype for validation is described here in detail.

[1]  R. Nicoll,et al.  Long-term depression with a flash , 1998, Nature Neuroscience.

[2]  R Kötter,et al.  Analysing functional connectivity in brain slices by a combination of infrared video microscopy, flash photolysis of caged compounds and scanning methods , 1998, Neuroscience.

[3]  G. Gross.  Simultaneous Single Unit Recording in vitro with a Photoetched Laser Deinsulated Gold Multimicroelectrode Surface , 1979, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[4]  R. Frostig,et al.  Optical imaging of neuronal activity. , 1988, Physiological reviews.

[5]  J. Pine.  Recording action potentials from cultured neurons with extracellular microcircuit electrodes , 1980, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[6]  E. Callaway,et al.  Photostimulation using caged glutamate reveals functional circuitry in living brain slices. , 1993, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[7]  Y. Lam,et al.  Imaging membrane potential with voltage-sensitive dyes. , 2000, The Biological bulletin.

[8]  D. Zecevic,et al.  Multiple spike-initiation zones in single neurons revealed by voltage-sensitive dyes , 1996, Nature.

[9]  S. Antic,et al.  Optical signals from neurons with internally applied voltage-sensitive dyes , 1995, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[10]  Rafael Yuste,et al.  Multiphoton stimulation of neurons. , 2002, Journal of neurobiology.

[11]  B. Zemelman,et al.  Selective Photostimulation of Genetically ChARGed Neurons , 2002, Neuron.

[12]  Claire Wyart,et al.  Constrained synaptic connectivity in functional mammalian neuronal networks grown on patterned surfaces , 2002, Journal of Neuroscience Methods.

[13]  Lawrence C. Katz,et al.  Focal photolysis of caged glutamate produces long-term depression of hippocampal glutamate receptors , 1998, Nature Neuroscience.

[14]  G. Loeb,et al.  A miniature microelectrode array to monitor the bioelectric activity of cultured cells. , 1972, Experimental cell research.

[15]  S. Antic,et al.  Fast optical recordings of membrane potential changes from dendrites of pyramidal neurons. , 1999, Journal of neurophysiology.

[16]  Rafael Yuste,et al.  Stimulating neurons with light , 2002, Current Opinion in Neurobiology.