MEA-NAP: A flexible network analysis pipeline for neuronal 2D and 3D organoid multielectrode recordings
Timothy P H Sit1, Rachael C Feord2, Alexander W E Dunn2
1Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, CB2 3DY Cambridge, UK; Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, WC1N 3BG London, UK.
Abstract:
Microelectrode array (MEA) recordings are commonly used to compare firing and burst rates in neuronal cultures. MEA recordings can also reveal microscale functional connectivity, topology, and network dynamics-patterns seen in brain networks across spatial scales. Network topology is frequently characterized in neuroimaging with graph theoretical metrics. However, few computational tools exist for analyzing microscale functional brain networks from MEA recordings. Here, we present a MATLAB MEA network analysis pipeline (MEA-NAP) for raw voltage time series acquired from single- or multi-well MEAs. Applications to 3D human cerebral organoids or 2D human-derived or murine cultures reveal differences in network development, including topology, node cartography, and dimensionality. MEA-NAP incorporates multi-unit template-based spike detection, probabilistic thresholding for determining significant functional connections, and normalization techniques for comparing networks. MEA-NAP can identify network-level effects of pharmacologic perturbation and/or disease-causing mutations and thus can provide a translational platform for revealing mechanistic insights and screening new therapeutic approaches. VIDEO ABSTRACT.
