Ulbert | Lab
High-density brain imaging lab
Testing and validation of MEMS-based high-denstity neural sensors for various neurobiological applications
State-of-the-art silicon probes
closely-packed site layouts, spatial oversampling
Recent developments of devices used to measure the electrical activity of the neurons directly from the brain tissue now allow to record neuronal signals with a high spatial resolution. These so-called neural/silicon probes contain a large number of small, closely-packed sensors (electrodes) which can monitor the activity of even hundreds of neurons at the same time. However, the scientific application of these state-of-the-art devices as well as the processing and analysis of the vast amount of neural data acquired by them is still in its infancy.
One of our aims is to the comprehensively test these high-channel-count silicon probes in animal models and to develop methods to efficiently process the obtained high-resolution measurements.
Furthermore, our group intends to use these probes to examine the cellular and network mechanisms (e.g. thalamocortical rhythms) underlying various physiological (e.g. sleep, anesthesia) and pathological (e.g. epilepsy) brain states.
We are also interested in the investigation of the electrical impulses (spikes or action potentials) generated by individual neurons. The spike waveforms of neurons recorded with high spatial resolution might be exploited to help scientists to distinguish between different types of neurons in the investigated brain area.
