Neural Probes with Flexible and Floating Microelectrode Arrays to Study the Mechanisms of Decision-making by Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Rats

Description

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is used to treat refractory epilepsy and resistant depression. We have previously explored the visceral analgesic properties of sub-diaphragmatic VNS in rats and showed that low-intensity VNS activates vagal afferent A? fibers reduces visceral pain. We have shown that visceral pain-related affective memory was facilitated by VNS, underscoring the importance of memory in visceral pain perception. A human experimental study using the Iowa gambling task showed participants made better choices after VNS was delivered. Imaging studies using fMRI found changes in prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, insula, and hypothalamus after VNS. No animal studies to date have examined the influence of decision-making following VNS. To address the underlying mechanism, chronic recording of neural activities in the correlated brains regions in conscious animals using neural probes with microelectrode arrays is necessary. Since commercially available neural probes are not satisfactory for this purpose, we propose to develop flexible neural probes with floating microelectrodes and interconnect wires to study the effect of VNS on decision-making in rats. We expect that dynamic observation of the VNS effect will reveal the mechanism of decision-making. In addition, the proposed flexible probe will provide a novel tool for long-term recording of neural signals.