用于光遗传学神经调控的无线程控光刺激器

摘要

To apply optogenetic neuromodulation technology in freely moving small animals, a multi-channel,miniaturized and wirelessly programmed optical stimulator was developed in this paper.The light source was generated byμLED.Wireless integrated chip was adopted to realize constant current drive and continuous adjustable brightness.The optical stimulation parameters of frequency, amplitude and pulse width were wirelessly programmed through radio-frequency communication between a computer and the stimulator and could be adjusted with time delay less than 1 ms.The stimulator was produced by double-layer fabrication and surface mount technology process to reduce the size and weight.The stimulator with battery weighted 3.3 g and its size was 20 mm ×16 mm ×5 mm, which could be wirelessly programmed as far as 10 m.The system was evaluated in the ChR2(channelrhodopsin-2) transfected mice with stimu-lus in the secondary motor cortex and the movement behavior was investigated.Results show that the opti-cal stimulation can reliably activate ChR2-expressed neurons.The 30 Hz optical stimulation at the second-ary motor cortex provoked the movement of the mice.The stimulator would promote the application of op-togenetic technology in neuromodulation research of brain and spinal cord stimulation.%为了将光遗传技术用于自由移动小动物的在体神经调控，本文研制了具有多通道输出、微型化、无线程控参数可调的光刺激器．采用μLED作为多通道输出光源，使用无线集成芯片实现恒流驱动和亮度连续可调，以射频通讯方式实现刺激参数程控，实时调节光刺激频率、幅度和占空比．采用双层电路板和贴片工艺来减小尺寸和重量．光刺激器体积为20 mm ×16 mm ×5 mm，重量（包括电池）3.3 g，通信距离10 m．实验结果显示该光刺激器输出光功率强度足够激活核团内光敏神经元，在转基因小鼠次级运动皮层脑区施加频率为30 Hz光刺激，可观察到小鼠运动改变．研制的刺激器可推动光遗传技术在自由移动小鼠脑深部和脊髓在体神经调控领域的应用．