Syringe-injectable Mesh Electronics for Stable Chronic Rodent Electrophysiology.

Implantable brain electrophysiology probes are valuable tools in neuroscience due to their ability to record neural activity with high spatiotemporal resolution from shallow and deep brain regions. Their use has been hindered, however, by mechanical and structural mismatches between the probes and brain tissue that commonly lead to micromotion and gliosis with resulting signal instability in chronic recording experiments. In contrast, following the implantation of ultraflexible mesh electronics via syringe injection, the mesh probes form a seamless, gliosis-free interface with the surrounding brain tissue that enables stable tracking of individual neurons on at least a year timescale. This protocol details the key steps in a typical mouse neural recording experiment using syringe-injectable mesh electronics, including the fabrication of mesh electronics in a standard photolithography-based process possible at many universities, loading mesh electronics into standard capillary needles, stereotaxic injection in vivo, connection of the mesh input/output to standard instrumentation interfaces, restrained or freely moving recording sessions, and histological sectioning of brain tissue containing mesh electronics. Representative neural recordings and histology data are presented. Investigators familiar with this protocol will have the knowledge necessary to incorporate mesh electronics into their own experiments and take advantage of the unique opportunities afforded by long-term stable neural interfacing, such as studies of aging processes, brain development, and the pathogenesis of brain disease.

可植入式脑电生理探针是神经科学中极具价值的工具，因为它们能够从大脑浅部和深部区域以高时空分辨率记录神经活动。然而，其应用受到了探针与脑组织之间机械和结构不匹配的阻碍，这通常会导致微运动和神经胶质增生，从而在慢性记录实验中造成信号不稳定。相比之下，通过注射器注射植入超柔性网状电子器件后，网状探针与周围脑组织形成无缝、无神经胶质增生的界面，能够在至少一年的时间尺度上稳定追踪单个神经元。本方案详细介绍了使用可注射器注射的网状电子器件进行典型小鼠神经记录实验的关键步骤，包括在许多大学都可能具备的基于标准光刻工艺制造网状电子器件，将网状电子器件装入标准毛细管针，体内立体定位注射，将网状输入/输出连接到标准仪器接口，约束或自由活动的记录过程，以及对含有网状电子器件的脑组织进行组织学切片。文中展示了具有代表性的神经记录和组织学数据。熟悉本方案的研究人员将具备必要的知识，能够将网状电子器件纳入自己的实验，并利用长期稳定的神经接口所提供的独特机会，例如对衰老过程、大脑发育和脑部疾病发病机制的研究。