< Back to previous page

Publication

Validating silicon polytrodes with paired juxtacellular recordings: method and dataset

Journal Contribution - Journal Article

Cross-validating new methods for recording neural activity is necessary to accurately interpret and compare the signals they measure. Here we describe a procedure for precisely aligning two probes for in vivo "paired-recordings" such that the spiking activity of a single neuron is monitored with both a dense extracellular silicon polytrode and a juxtacellular micropipette. Our new method allows for efficient, reliable, and automated guidance of both probes to the same neural structure with micrometer resolution. We also describe a new dataset of paired-recordings, which is available online. We propose that our novel targeting system, and ever expanding cross-validation dataset, will be vital to the development of new algorithms for automatically detecting/sorting single-units, characterizing new electrode materials/designs, and resolving nagging questions regarding the origin and nature of extracellular neural signals.
Journal: Journal of Neurophysiology
ISSN: 0022-3077
Issue: 2
Volume: 116
Pages: 892 - 903
Publication year:2016