Neuron
Volume 96, Issue 4, 15 November 2017, Pages 769-782.e2
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A Large-Scale Semi-Chronic Microdrive Recording System for Non-Human Primates

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2017.09.050Get rights and content
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Highlights

  • Large-scale recording system with up to 256 microelectrodes

  • Independently moveable microelectrodes with up to 41 mm of travel

  • Recording system was stable over many months

  • Enables the study of large-scale networks underlying cognition

Summary

Multi-electrode recordings in the non-human primate provide a critical method for measuring the widely distributed activity patterns that underlie brain function. However, common techniques rely on small, often immovable arrays, or microdrives, that are only capable of manipulating a small number of closely spaced probes. These techniques restrict the number of cortical areas that can be simultaneously sampled and are typically not capable of reaching subcortical targets. To overcome these limitations, we developed a large-scale, semi-chronic microdrive recording system with up to 256 independently movable microelectrodes spanning an entire cerebral hemisphere. The microdrive system is hermetically sealed, free of internal connecting wires, and has been used to simultaneously record from up to 37 cortical and subcortical areas in awake behaving monkeys for up to 9 months. As a proof of principle, we demonstrate the capability of this technique to address network-level questions using a graph theoretic analysis of functional connectivity data.

Keywords

microdrive
large-scale recording
monkey
electrophysiology
multi-electrode
phase locking
synchronization
graph theory
working memory

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2

These authors contributed equally

3

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