Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.

The numerous connections between neuronal cell bodies, made by their dendrites and axons, are vital for information processing in the brain. While dendrites and synapses have been extensively studied, axons have remained elusive to a large extent. We present a novel platform to study axonal physiolo...

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Main Authors: Marta K Lewandowska, Douglas J Bakkum, Santiago B Rompani, Andreas Hierlemann
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118514
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author Marta K Lewandowska
Douglas J Bakkum
Santiago B Rompani
Andreas Hierlemann
author_facet Marta K Lewandowska
Douglas J Bakkum
Santiago B Rompani
Andreas Hierlemann
author_sort Marta K Lewandowska
collection DOAJ
description The numerous connections between neuronal cell bodies, made by their dendrites and axons, are vital for information processing in the brain. While dendrites and synapses have been extensively studied, axons have remained elusive to a large extent. We present a novel platform to study axonal physiology and information processing based on combining an 11,011-electrode high-density complementary metal-oxide semiconductor microelectrode array with a poly(dimethylsiloxane) channel device, which isolates axons from somas and, importantly, significantly amplifies recorded axonal signals. The combination of the microelectrode array with recording and stimulation capability with the microfluidic isolation channels permitted us to study axonal signal behavior at great detail. The device, featuring two culture chambers with over 30 channels spanning in between, enabled long-term recording of single spikes from isolated axons with signal amplitudes of 100 μV up to 2 mV. Propagating signals along axons could be recorded with 10 to 50 electrodes per channel. We (i) describe the performance and capabilities of our device for axonal electrophysiology, and (ii) present novel data on axonal signals facilitated by the device. Spontaneous action potentials with characteristic shapes propagated from somas along axons between the two compartments, and these unique shapes could be used to identify individual axons within channels that contained many axonal branches. Stimulation through the electrode array facilitated the identification of somas and their respective axons, enabling interfacing with different compartments of a single cell. Complex spike shapes observed in channels were traced back to single cells, and we show that more complicated spike shapes originate from a linear superposition of multiple axonal signals rather than signal distortion by the channels.
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spelling doaj-art-e7deddc0a16449fba7c6f51744489a3a2025-08-20T03:46:13ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01103e011851410.1371/journal.pone.0118514Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.Marta K LewandowskaDouglas J BakkumSantiago B RompaniAndreas HierlemannThe numerous connections between neuronal cell bodies, made by their dendrites and axons, are vital for information processing in the brain. While dendrites and synapses have been extensively studied, axons have remained elusive to a large extent. We present a novel platform to study axonal physiology and information processing based on combining an 11,011-electrode high-density complementary metal-oxide semiconductor microelectrode array with a poly(dimethylsiloxane) channel device, which isolates axons from somas and, importantly, significantly amplifies recorded axonal signals. The combination of the microelectrode array with recording and stimulation capability with the microfluidic isolation channels permitted us to study axonal signal behavior at great detail. The device, featuring two culture chambers with over 30 channels spanning in between, enabled long-term recording of single spikes from isolated axons with signal amplitudes of 100 μV up to 2 mV. Propagating signals along axons could be recorded with 10 to 50 electrodes per channel. We (i) describe the performance and capabilities of our device for axonal electrophysiology, and (ii) present novel data on axonal signals facilitated by the device. Spontaneous action potentials with characteristic shapes propagated from somas along axons between the two compartments, and these unique shapes could be used to identify individual axons within channels that contained many axonal branches. Stimulation through the electrode array facilitated the identification of somas and their respective axons, enabling interfacing with different compartments of a single cell. Complex spike shapes observed in channels were traced back to single cells, and we show that more complicated spike shapes originate from a linear superposition of multiple axonal signals rather than signal distortion by the channels.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118514
spellingShingle Marta K Lewandowska
Douglas J Bakkum
Santiago B Rompani
Andreas Hierlemann
Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.
PLoS ONE
title Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.
title_full Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.
title_fullStr Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.
title_full_unstemmed Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.
title_short Recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons.
title_sort recording large extracellular spikes in microchannels along many axonal sites from individual neurons
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0118514
work_keys_str_mv AT martaklewandowska recordinglargeextracellularspikesinmicrochannelsalongmanyaxonalsitesfromindividualneurons
AT douglasjbakkum recordinglargeextracellularspikesinmicrochannelsalongmanyaxonalsitesfromindividualneurons
AT santiagobrompani recordinglargeextracellularspikesinmicrochannelsalongmanyaxonalsitesfromindividualneurons
AT andreashierlemann recordinglargeextracellularspikesinmicrochannelsalongmanyaxonalsitesfromindividualneurons