Therapeutic effect of discriminated electric stimuli on the bursts in dissociated cortical culture neural networks

C. Goletiani, N. Nebieridze, M. Mantskava, M. Zhvania, D. Songulashvili

Abstract: Bursts are widely believed to play an important role in information coding mechanisms and to function in parallel to spiking as a signal reinforcement tool in synapses. They are, nevertheless, at the center of attention due to their significance in disorders such as epilepsy. Dissociated cortical culture grown on a multielectrode array has become a significant scientific tool for neuroscientists to explore physiological or pathological problems in neural networks. We were interested to see if different sensory inputs have a distinct effect on the DCC's developing neural circuits, and in particular, how the burst phenomena are susceptible to these stimuli. Registered channels enhanced activity in response to some stimulus types while responding less efficiently to others, according to the data. The most popular paradigms were low-frequency and, most notably, PP stimuli. The training phase was marked by a gradual rise in activity level, with a high predominance of short bursts. The prevalence of both tonic and burst evoked responses was increased when preferred stimuli were repeated, indicating synaptic plasticity-related changes. However, a phenomena known as state-dependent activity was also seen, demonstrating that the preferred stimuli operate as a regulatory factor for neuronal activity level.


Series on Biomechanics, Vol.35 No.4 (2021), 32- 41

Keywords: Burst; dissociated cortical culture; epilepsy

Date published: 2021-12-29