HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Supplemental Videos All Versions of this Article: 93/2/1090    most recent 00836.2004v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Web of Science (8) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Starovoytov, A. Articles by Seung, H. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Starovoytov, A. Articles by Seung, H. S.

INNOVATIVE METHODOLOGY

Light-Directed Electrical Stimulation of Neurons Cultured on Silicon Wafers

Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts

Submitted 16 August 2004; accepted in final form 21 September 2004

Dissociated neurons cultured in vitro can serve as a model system for studying the dynamics of neural networks. Such studies depend on techniques for stimulating patterns of neural activity. We show a technique for extracellular stimulation of dissociated neurons cultured on silicon wafers. When the silicon surface is reverse biased, electrical current can be generated near any neuron by pulsing a laser. Complex spatiotemporal stimulation patterns can be produced by directing a single beam with an acousto-optic deflector. The technique can generate a stimulating current at any location in the culture. This contrasts with multielectrode arrays (MEAs), which can stimulate only at fixed electrode locations. To characterize reliability and spatial selectivity of stimulation, we used intracellular (patch-clamp) recordings to monitor the effect of targeted laser pulses on cultured hippocampal neurons. Action potentials could be stimulated with submillisecond precision and 100-micron spatial resolution at rates exceeding 100 Hz. Optimal control parameters for stimulation are discussed.