chronic-cranial-window-technique-for-repeated-cortical-recordings

Chronic Cranial Window Technique for Repeated Cortical Recordings During Anesthesia in Pigs

Cortical recordings are essential for extracting neuronal signals to inform various applications, including brain-computer interfaces and disease ...

Aalborg University

There is growing evidence showing that spinal manipulation increases muscle strength in healthy individuals as well as in people with some musculoskeletal and neurological disorders. However, the underlying mechanism by which spinal manipulation changes muscle strength is less clear. This study aimed to assess the effects of a single spinal manipulation session on the electrophysiological and metabolic properties of the tibialis anterior (TA) muscle. Maximum voluntary contractions (MVC) of the ankle dorsiflexors, high-density electromyography (HDsEMG), intramuscular EMG, and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) were recorded from the TA muscle in 25 participants with low level recurring spinal dysfunction using a randomized controlled crossover design. The following outcomes: motor unit discharge rate (MUDR), strength (force at MVC), muscle conduction velocity (CV), relative changes in oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin were assessed pre and post a spinal manipulation intervention and passive movement control. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess within and between-group differences. Following the spinal manipulation intervention, there was a significant increase in MVC ( = 0.02; avg 18.87 ± 28.35%) and a significant increase in CV in both the isometric steady-state (10% of MVC) contractions ( < 0.01; avg 22.11 ± 11.69%) and during the isometric ramp (10% of MVC) contractions ( < 0.01; avg 4.52 ± 4.58%) compared to the control intervention. There were no other significant findings. The observed TA strength and CV increase, without changes in MUDR, suggests that the strength changes observed following spinal manipulation are, in part, due to increased recruitment of larger, higher threshold motor units. Further research needs to investigate the longer term and potential functional effects of spinal manipulation in various patients who may benefit from improved muscle function and greater motor unit recruitment.

The Effect of Spinal Manipulation on the Electrophysiological and Metabolic Properties of the Tibialis Anterior Muscle.

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been proven to be useful for stroke rehabilitation, but there are a number of factors that impede the use of this technology in rehabilitation clinics and in home-use, the major factors including the usability and costs of the BCI system. The aims of this study were to develop a cheap 3D-printed wrist exoskeleton that can be controlled by a cheap open source BCI (OpenViBE), and to determine if training with such a setup could induce neural plasticity. Eleven healthy volunteers imagined wrist extensions, which were detected from single-trial electroencephalography (EEG), and in response to this, the wrist exoskeleton replicated the intended movement. Motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) elicited using transcranial magnetic stimulation were measured before, immediately after, and 30 min after BCI training with the exoskeleton. The BCI system had a true positive rate of 86 ± 12% with 1.20 ± 0.57 false detections per minute. Compared to the measurement before the BCI training, the MEPs increased by 35 ± 60% immediately after and 67 ± 60% 30 min after the BCI training. There was no association between the BCI performance and the induction of plasticity. In conclusion, it is possible to detect imaginary movements using an open-source BCI setup and control a cheap 3D-printed exoskeleton that when combined with the BCI can induce neural plasticity. These findings may promote the availability of BCI technology for rehabilitation clinics and home-use. However, the usability must be improved, and further tests are needed with stroke patients.

Induction of Neural Plasticity Using a Low-Cost Open Source Brain-Computer Interface and a 3D-Printed Wrist Exoskeleton.

This study implements the use of Danish Landrace pigs as subjects for the long-term potentiation (LTP)-like pain model. This is accomplished by analyzing changes in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) in response to electrical stimulation on the ulnar nerve after applying high-frequency electrical stimulation (HFS) on the ulnar nerve. In this study, eight Danish Landrace pigs were electrically stimulated, through the ulnar nerve, to record the cortically evoked response in S1 by a 16-channel microelectrode array (MEA). Six of these pigs were subjected to HFS (four consecutive, 15 mA, 100 Hz, 1000 µs pulse duration) 45 min after the start of the experiment. Two pigs were used as control subjects to compare the cortical response to peripheral electrical stimulation without applying HFS. Low-frequency components of the intracortical signals (0.3-300 Hz) were analyzed using event-related potential (ERP) analysis, where the minimum peak during the first 30-50 ms (N1 component) in each channel was detected. The change in N1 was compared over time across the intervention and control groups. Spectral analysis was used to demonstrate the effect of the intervention on the evoked cortical oscillations computed between 75 ms and 200 ms after stimulus. ERP analysis showed an immediate increase in N1 amplitude that became statistically significant 45 mins after HFS ( < 0.01) for the intervention group. The normalized change in power in frequency oscillations showed a similar trend. The results show that the LTP-like pain model can be effectively implemented in pigs using HFS since the cortical responses are comparable to those described in humans.

The effect of peripheral high-frequency electrical stimulation on the primary somatosensory cortex in pigs.

Decoding information from the peripheral nervous system via implantable neural interfaces remains a significant challenge, considerably limiting the advancement of neuromodulation and neuroprosthetic devices. The velocity selective recording (VSR) technique has been proposed to improve the classification of neural traffic by combining temporal and spatial information through a multi-electrode cuff (MEC). Therefore, this study investigates the feasibility of using the VSR technique to characterise fibre type based on the electrically evoked compound action potentials (eCAP) propagating along the ulnar nerve of pigs in vivo. A range of electrical stimulation parameters (amplitudes of 50 μA-10 mA and pulse durations of 100 μs, 500 μs, 1000 μs, and 5000 μs) was applied on a cutaneous and a motor branch of the ulnar nerve in nine Danish landrace pigs. Recordings were made with a 14 ring MEC and a delay-and-add algorithm was used to convert the eCAPs into the velocity domain. The results revealed two fibre populations propagating along the cutaneous branch of the ulnar nerve, with mean velocities of 55 m/s and 21 m/s, while only one dominant fibre population was found for the motor branch, with a mean velocity of 63 m/s. Because of its simplicity to provide information on the fibre selectivity and direction of propagation of nerve fibres, VSR can be implemented to advance the performance of the bidirectional control of neural prostheses and bioelectronic medicine applications.

The Use of the Velocity Selective Recording Technique to Reveal the Excitation Properties of the Ulnar Nerve in Pigs.

The knowledge of the morphology and morphometry of peripheral nerves is essential for developing neural interfaces and understanding nerve regeneration in basic and applied research. Currently, the most adopted animal model is the rat, even though recent studies have suggested that the neuroanatomy of large animal models is more comparable to humans. The present knowledge of the morphological structure of large animal models is limited; therefore, the present study aims to describe the morphological characteristics of the Ulnar Nerve (UN) in pigs. UN cross-sections were taken from seven Danish landrace pigs at three distinct locations: distal UN, proximal UN and at the dorsal cutaneous branch of the UN (DCBUN). The nerve diameter, fascicle diameter and number, number of fibres and fibre size were quantified. The UN diameter was larger in the proximal section compared to the distal segment and the DCBUN. The proximal branch also had a more significant number of fascicles (median: 15) than the distal (median: 10) and the DCBUN (median: 11) segments. Additionally, the mean fascicle diameter was smaller at the DCBUN (mean: 165 μm) than at the distal (mean: 197 μm) and proximal (mean: 199 μm) segments of the UN. Detailed knowledge of the microscopical structure of the UN in pigs is critical for further studies investigating neural interface designs and computational models of the peripheral nervous system.

Morphology and morphometry of the ulnar nerve in the forelimb of pigs.

Our aim was to use intracortical recording to enable the tracking of ischemic infarct development over the first few critical hours of ischemia with a high time resolution in pigs. We employed electrophysiological measurements to obtain quick feedback on neural function, which might be useful for screening, e.g., for the optimal dosage and timing of agents prior to further pre-clinical evaluation.

Porcine Model of Cerebral Ischemic Stroke Utilizing Intracortical Recordings for the Continuous Monitoring of the Ischemic Area.

Translational models of the sensitized pain system are needed to progress the understanding of involved mechanisms. In this study, long-term potentiation was used to develop a mechanism-based large-animal pain model. Event-related potentials to electrical stimulation of the ulnar nerve were recorded by intracranial recordings in pigs, 3 weeks before, immediately before and after, and 3 weeks after peripheral high-frequency stimulation (HFS) applied to the ulnar nerve in the right forelimb (7 pigs) or in control animals (5 pigs). Event-related potential recordings and peripheral HFS were done during anesthesia. Two weeks before and after the HFS, behavioral responses reflecting mechanical and thermal sensitivity were collected using brush, noxious limb-mounted pressure algometer, and noxious laser stimuli. The HFS intervention limb was progressively sensitized to noxious mechanical stimulation in week 1 and 2 compared with baseline ( P = 0.045) and the control group ( P < 0.034) but not significantly to laser or brush stimulation. The first negative (N1) peak of the event-related potential was increased 30 minutes after HFS compared with before ( P < 0.05). The N1 peak was also larger compared with control pigs 20 to 40 minutes after HFS ( P < 0.031) but not significantly increased 3 weeks after. The relative increase in N1 30 minutes after HFS and the degree of mechanical hyperalgesia 2 weeks post-HFS was correlated ( P < 0.033). These results show for the first time that the pig HFS model resembles the human HFS model closely where the profile of sensitization is comparable. Interestingly, the degree of sensitization was associated with the cortical signs of hyperexcitability at HFS induction.

High-frequency electrical stimulation increases cortical excitability and mechanical sensitivity in a chronic large animal model.

Micro-electrocorticography (µECoG) electrodes have emerged to balance the trade-off between invasiveness and signal quality in brain recordings. However, its large-scale applicability is still hindered by a lack of comparative studies assessing the relationship between ECoG and traditional recording methods such as penetrating electrodes. This study aimed to compare somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) through the lenses of a µECoG and an intracortical microelectrode array (MEA). The electrodes were implanted in the pig's primary somatosensory cortex, while SEPs were generated by applying electrical stimulation to the ulnar nerve. The SEP amplitude, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), power spectral density (PSD), and correlation structure were analysed. Overall, SEPs resulting from MEA recordings had higher amplitudes and contained significantly more spectral power, especially at higher frequencies. However, the SNRs were similar between the interfaces. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using µECoG to decode SEPs with wide-range applications in physiology monitoring and brain-computer interfaces.

Article	Year
The Effect of Spinal Manipulation on the Electrophysiological and Metabolic Properties of the Tibialis Anterior Muscle. Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)\| PubMed ID: 33321904	2020
Induction of Neural Plasticity Using a Low-Cost Open Source Brain-Computer Interface and a 3D-Printed Wrist Exoskeleton. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)\| PubMed ID: 33467420	2021
The effect of peripheral high-frequency electrical stimulation on the primary somatosensory cortex in pigs. IBRO neuroscience reports\| PubMed ID: 34541572	2021
The Use of the Velocity Selective Recording Technique to Reveal the Excitation Properties of the Ulnar Nerve in Pigs. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)\| PubMed ID: 35009601	2021
Morphology and morphometry of the ulnar nerve in the forelimb of pigs. Anatomia, histologia, embryologia\| PubMed ID: 37715494	2024
Porcine Model of Cerebral Ischemic Stroke Utilizing Intracortical Recordings for the Continuous Monitoring of the Ischemic Area. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)\| PubMed ID: 38793822	2024
High-frequency electrical stimulation increases cortical excitability and mechanical sensitivity in a chronic large animal model. Pain\| PubMed ID: 39133034	2025
Comparison of Subdural and Intracortical Recordings of Somatosensory Evoked Responses. Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)\| PubMed ID: 39517744	2024

Taha A. M. Janjua

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