Key Laboratory of Animal Models and Human Disease Mechanisms, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, P. R. China;
J Neurophysiol. 2014 Mar;111(5):1027-32. doi: 10.1152/jn.00781.2013. Epub 2013 Dec 11.
Recent developments in neuron recording techniques include the invention of some fragile electrodes. The fragility of these electrodes impedes their successful use in deep brain recordings because it is difficult to penetrate the electrodes through the dura mater, especially the tentorium cerebelli (TC) enclosing the cerebellum and brain stem. This paper reports a new method to pierce the TC for inserting fragile electrodes into the inferior colliculus of rhesus monkeys. Briefly, a unique tool kit, consisting of needles with sharp tips, a guide tube and an "impactor," was used in a multistep protocol to pierce the TC. The impactor provided a brief force that quickly thrusts the needles through the meninges without causing significant damage to the brain tissue under the TC. Using this novel approach, tetrodes were successfully implanted into the inferior colliculus of a rhesus monkey and neuronal discharge signals were recorded. This method, which is simple, convenient and economical, allows neurophysiologists to study the electrophysiological characteristics of deep brain structures under the TC with advanced, albeit fragile, electrodes.
神经元记录技术的最新进展包括一些脆弱电极的发明。这些电极的脆弱性阻碍了它们在深部脑记录中的成功应用，因为很难将电极穿过硬脑膜，特别是小脑幕（TC），它包围着小脑和脑干。本文报告了一种新方法，用于刺穿 TC，以便将脆弱的电极插入恒河猴的下丘脑中。简而言之，使用了一种独特的工具包，包括带有锋利尖端的针、一个引导管和一个“冲击器”，按照多步方案刺穿 TC。冲击器提供了短暂的力，可迅速将针穿过脑膜，而不会对 TC 下的脑组织造成重大损伤。使用这种新方法，成功地将四极管植入恒河猴的下丘脑中，并记录了神经元放电信号。这种方法简单、方便、经济，使神经生理学家能够使用先进但脆弱的电极研究 TC 下深部脑结构的电生理特性。
