Developing advanced electrically active cell models is challenging. Can you capture the complexity of your stem cell-derived neuronal function with just imaging or expression data? Track the emergence of neuronal activity and watch as complex synchronous patterns emerge. Quantify network properties and classify how your cells behave.
Over minutes or months, gain unprecedented access to neuronal activity with the Maestro MEA platform. Noninvasively monitor cells in culture as they mature and establish their unique phenotype. Measure dozens of endpoints with AxIS Navigator to fully classify and characterize your model's activity.
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Local Field Potential (LFP)>
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Functionally optimize neural differentiation and culture conditions>
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Identify unique network activity patterns with cell cultures from specific brain regions>
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Assay Steps>
Neuronal cultures produce complex patterns of activity as the network matures over time. The neuronal activity can be separated into network spiking activity, characterized by the number and synchrony of detected action potentials, and the local field potential (LFP), which detects low-frequency oscillations in the network. The LFP and network activity are measured simultaneously (see left) and provide complementary information on the maturation of the network. Classical network activity measures detect activity, synchrony, and oscillations in this network of rodent cortical neurons by 14 days in culture. From the average LFP waveforms (see right), we can see that the complexity of those network events increases as the cultures mature.
(Left) The raster plot (bottom) identified bursts of spiking detected on individual electrodes (blue) and coordinated bursts of activity across electrodes (pink) for rodent cortical neurons after 21 days in culture. The oscillations in the network activity were detected via in the population activity histogram (middle). The local field potential (LFP) signal (top) was measured simultaneously from each electrode in the well, with one example trace depicted here. The LFP events were coordinated with the network activity in the well. (Right) The detected LFP events (gray) are presented along with the average LFP across events (black) at different stages of neuronal network maturation for rodent cortical neurons. At 14 days in vitro (DIV), the LFP events are small, biphasic, and short in duration. At DIV21, the LFP reveals oscillations in the neuronal network. At 28 days in vitro, the network displayed strong initial peaks with rebound events occurring at variable delays.
