Amplitude- and frequency-dependent activation of layer II/III neurons by intracortical microstimulation
Guangying K. Wu,
Yasaman Ardeshirpour,
Christina Mastracchio,
Jordan Kent,
Michael Caiola,
Meijun Ye
Affiliations
Guangying K. Wu
Division of Biomedical Physics, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA; Corresponding author
Yasaman Ardeshirpour
Division of Biomedical Physics, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
Christina Mastracchio
Division of Biomedical Physics, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
Jordan Kent
Division of Biomedical Physics, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA; Scientific Publications Department, Society for Neuroscience, Washington DC, USA
Michael Caiola
Division of Biomedical Physics, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA
Meijun Ye
Division of Biomedical Physics, Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA; Corresponding author
Summary: Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) has been used for the development of brain machine interfaces. However, further understanding about the spatiotemporal responses of neurons to different electrical stimulation parameters is necessary to inform the design of optimal therapies. In this study, we employed in vivo electrophysiological recording, two-photon calcium imaging, and electric field simulation to evaluate the acute effect of ICMS on layer II/III neurons. Our results show that stimulation frequency non-linearly modulates neuronal responses, whereas the magnitude of responses is linearly correlated to the electric field strength and stimulation amplitude before reaching a steady state. Temporal dynamics of neurons’ responses depends more on stimulation frequency and their distance to the stimulation electrode. In addition, amplitude-dependent post-stimulation suppression was observed within ∼500 μm of the stimulation electrode, as evidenced by both calcium imaging and local field potentials. These findings provide insights for selecting stimulation parameters to achieve desirable spatiotemporal specificity of ICMS.
