title: Micro-drive array for chronic in vivo recording: drive fabrication.
abstract: Chronic recording of large populations of neurons is a valuable technique for studying the function of neuronal circuits in awake behaving rats. Lightweight recording devices carrying a high density array of tetrodes allow for the simultaneous monitoring of the activity of tens to hundreds of individual neurons. Here we describe a protocol for the fabrication of a micro-drive array with twenty one independently movable micro-drives. This device has been used successfully to record from hippocampal and cortical neurons in our lab. We show how to prepare a custom designed, 3-D printed plastic base that will hold the micro-drives. We demonstrate how to construct the individual micro-drives and how to assemble the complete micro-drive array. Further preparation of the drive array for surgical implantation, such as the fabrication of tetrodes, loading of tetrodes into the drive array and gold-plating, is covered in a subsequent video article.
authors.affiliation: Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA. fkloos@mit.edu
authors.forename: Fabian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kloosterman
authors.forename: Thomas J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Davidson
authors.forename: Stephen N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Gomperts
authors.forename: Stuart P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Layton
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hale
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Matthew A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D046228:Microarray Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats