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Updated: May 21, 2026
Recording and Modulation of Epileptiform Activity in Rodent Brain Slices Coupled to Microelectrode Arrays
Published on: May 15, 2018
Cortical electrical stimulation modulates hippocampal electrophysiological activity in mouse brain slices of temporal
Shiji He1, Lijun Zhang1, Guanghao Zhang1
1Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioelectromagnetism, Institute of Electrical Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 6 Beiertiao, Zhongguancun, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China; School of Electronic, Electrical and Communication Engineering, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 380, Huairou District, Beijing 101408, China.
Abstract:
To investigate structural and functional alterations in the prefrontal cortex-hippocampus (PFC-HPC) circuit in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and the regulatory effects of cortical electrical stimulation on hippocampal activity. A kainic acid (KA)-induced TLE mouse model was used. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) analyzed PFC-HPC structural connectivity. Optimized PFC-HPC brain slices were prepared for electrophysiological recording via high-density microelectrode arrays (HD-MEAs), and cortical electrical stimulation at different intensities was applied. DTI revealed abnormal diffusion metrics fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD) and the number of whole-brain fiber tracts in epileptic mice. Electrophysiologically, epileptic slices showed enhanced low-frequency oscillations, reduced high-frequency oscillations, impaired cross-frequency coupling (CFC), and disrupted neuronal firing in the HPC. Notably, cortical electrical stimulation at 20μA and 100μA primarily improved pathological neural oscillations and theta-gamma CFC in the hippocampus, while stimulation at 60μA specifically normalized the abnormal action potential dynamics of hippocampal neurons. This study demonstrates structural and functional remodeling of the PFC-HPC circuit in TLE, and cortical electrical stimulation modulates pathological hippocampal activity, providing insights into non-invasive deep neuromodulation strategies in TLE. NEW & NOTEWORTHY This study explores the structural changes in PFC-HPC connectivity and the regulatory effect of cortical electrical stimulation on hippocampal neural activity in brain slices of mice with TLE, with key findings showing that TLE mice exhibit structural alterations in PFC-HPC connectivity, and epileptic PFC and HPC present dysregulated neural oscillations, cross-frequency coupling, and neuronal firing. Additionally, cortical stimulation exerts an intensity-specific modulation effect: stimulation with 20μA or 100μA normalizes oscillations, while stimulation with 60μA regulates action potential. These results provide valuable insights into the development of non-invasive deep neuromodulation strategies for TLE.
