Study on auditory pathway functions with surface multiple microelectrode and spike microelectrode array

摘要

To study autitory pathway functions, we have developed the experimental system including the surface microelectrode and the spike microelectrode array. The surface microelectrode is made of polyimide so as to be flexible enough to stick onto the Cortex and not to damage the brain tissue. It consists of 32 recording sites on 2-mm square area. The spike microelectrode array, in which four microelectrodes are aligned at even intervals of 400-μm, was used for micro-stimulation of the Cochlear Nucleus. Through animal experiments on rats, we show that the surface electrode can provide high-resolution data of cortical activities elicited by both acoustic and electrical stimulation, and it can demonstrate the functional stimulation of the spike microelectrode array.