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About the research project:
Neurons communicate through electrical signals, and modern bioelectronic tools allow us to record and manipulate this activity from outside the cells. In this project, students will explore how electrical signals in the nervous system can be measured and interpreted using extracellular recordings. They will learn how voltage represents a difference between two points, how neuronal activity generates measurable electrical fields, and how these signals can be separated into different components using filtering techniques.
Using real experimental setups inspired by current neuroscience research, students will record signals from biological tissue (locust nervous system) using our INTAN data acquisition system. They will discover the difference between slow collective activity (Local Field Potentials) and fast events (spikes). Finally, they will learn how to analyze the recorded electrical activity data and understand how one can use this to study brain states. At the end of the week, we will explore how electrical stimulation modulates neural activity.
Research project outline:
- Introduction to neural bioelectricity. Surface recording (EMG) and stimulation
- Extracellular recordings set up: Signal Acquisition System, electrodes, Locust
- Recording/stimulation experiments, observing effects on neural activity
- Signal processing, filtering, visualization, plots and LFP vs Spikes
- Quantifying neural activity, interpretations what this activity represents
- Discussion of how nanoscale surface properties influence real-world applications
Capacity:
- 2 students
Research project leader:
