Electrical impedance of mouse brain cortex in vitro from 4.7 kHz to 2.0 MHz

The electrical impedance of samples of mouse brain cortex has been measured between 4.7 kHz and 2.0 MHz. Brain slices of thickness 400 μm were prepared from two mice. Each slice was placed in either normal artificial cerebrospinal fluid or magnesium-free artificial cerebrospinal fluid; the latter induces seizure-like electrical behaviour. A total of 74 samples of cortex of approximate size 2 mm × 2 mm were then cut from these slices. Each sample in turn was placed between two flat Ag/AgCl electrodes and electrical impedance measured with an Agilent E4980A four-point impedance monitor. The measurements showed two regions of significant dispersion. Circuits based on the Cole-Cole and Fricke models, consisting of inductive, nonlinear capacitive and resistive elements were used to model the behaviour. Distributions of values for each circuit element have been determined for the samples prepared in seizing and non-seizing conditions. Few differences were found between the values of circuit elements between the seizing and non-seizing groups.