An Ultraflexible Electrode Array for Large-Scale Chronic Recording in the Nonhuman Primate Brain.
Yixin Tian, Jiapeng Yin, Chengyao Wang, Zhenliang He, Jingyi Xie, Xiaoshan Feng, Yang Zhou, Tianyu Ma, Yang Xie, Xue Li, Tianming Yang, Chi Ren, Chengyu Li, Zhengtuo Zhao
Author Information
Yixin Tian: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Jiapeng Yin: Shanghai Center for Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Technology, Shanghai, 201602, China.
Chengyao Wang: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Jingyi Xie: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Xiaoshan Feng: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Yang Zhou: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Tianyu Ma: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Yang Xie: Lingang Laboratory, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Xue Li: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Tianming Yang: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
Chi Ren: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China. ORCID
Zhengtuo Zhao: Institute of Neuroscience, Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China. ORCID
Single-unit (SU) recording in nonhuman primates (NHPs) is indispensible in the quest of how the brain works, yet electrodes currently used for the NHP brain are limited in signal longevity, stability, and spatial coverage. Using new structural materials, microfabrication, and penetration techniques, we develop a mechanically robust ultraflexible, 1 µm thin electrode array (MERF) that enables pial penetration and high-density, large-scale, and chronic recording of neurons along both vertical and horizontal cortical axes in the nonhuman primate brain. Recording from three monkeys yields 2,913 SUs from 1,065 functional recording channels (up to 240 days), with some SUs tracked for up to 2 months. Recording from the primary visual cortex (V1) reveals that neurons with similar orientation preferences for visual stimuli exhibited higher spike correlation. Furthermore, simultaneously recorded neurons in different cortical layers of the primary motor cortex (M1) show preferential firing for hand movements of different directions. Finally, it is shown that a linear decoder trained with neuronal spiking activity across M1 layers during monkey's hand movements can be used to achieve on-line control of cursor movement. Thus, the MERF electrode array offers a new tool for basic neuroscience studies and brain-machine interface (BMI) applications in the primate brain.
