The Journal of Neurophysiology Vol. 83 No. 1 January 2000, pp. 611-615
Copyright ©2000 by the American Physiological Society
Chronic Recording of Regenerating VIIIth Nerve Axons With a Sieve
Electrode
Allen F.
Mensinger,1,2
David J.
Anderson,3
Christopher J.
Buchko,4,5
Michael A.
Johnson,5
David C.
Martin,5
Patrick A.
Tresco,6
Robert B.
Silver,2 and
Stephen M.
Highstein1,2
1Department of Otolaryngology,
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110;
2Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole,
Massachusetts 02543; 3Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
48109; 4Guidant Corporation, Santa Clara,
California 95054; 5Materials Science and
Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109; and
6Department of Bioengineering, University of
Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah 84122
Mensinger, Allen F.,
David J. Anderson,
Christopher J. Buchko,
Michael A. Johnson,
David C. Martin,
Patrick A. Tresco,
Robert B. Silver, and
Stephen M. Highstein.
Chronic Recording of Regenerating VIIIth Nerve Axons With a Sieve
Electrode. J. Neurophysiol. 83: 611-615, 2000. A micromachined silicon substrate sieve electrode
was implanted within transected toadfish (Opsanus tau)
otolith nerves. High fidelity, single unit neural activity was recorded
from seven alert and unrestrained fish 30 to 60 days after
implantation. Fibrous coatings of genetically engineered bioactive
protein polymers and nerve guide tubes increased the number of axons
regenerating through the electrode pores when compared with controls.
Sieve electrodes have potential as permanent interfaces to the nervous system and to bridge missing connections between severed or damaged nerves and muscles. Recorded impulses might also be amplified and used
to control prosthetic devices.
