The future may be extended to novel multi-function batteryless, wireless control, neural stimulation systems.
Editor’s note: This article comes from WeChat public account “MEMS” (ID: MEMSensor), author MEMS, the original title “Shenzhen Advanced Institute to achieve self-driven flexible device neural stimulation and synaptic plasticity measurement”, slightly cut.
A few days ago, the Zhanyang research group of the Institute of Brain Cognition and Brain Diseases of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences collaborated with Xue Xinyu and Zhang Yan of the University of Electronic Science and Technology to construct a flexible electronic skin based on the triboelectric effect. Battery, self-driven electrical stimulation and cause nerve response. Related research results Self-powered, wireless-control, neural-stimulating electronic skin for in vivo characterization of synaptic plasticity (“self-driven, wireless electronic skin nerve stimulation system for the identification of synaptic plasticity in the body”) published in Nano Energy on.
Self-driven flexible electronic skin measures synaptic plasticity. Image source: MEMS
Synaptic plasticity is one of the main neural mechanisms of organism learning and memory. The formation of long-term memory requires changes in synaptic strength. Traditional electrical nerve stimulation techniques used to characterize synaptic plasticity require external power and line control systems. The team created a new self-driven, wirelessly controlled neural stimulation electronic skin for synaptic plasticity in vivo characterization. Using this electronic skin to stimulate neurons in the hippocampus of the brain, changes in the synaptic strength during learning and memory can be studied by measuring the electrical activity of the excitatory postsynaptic potential.
The researchers verified the animal model by connecting the electronic skin to the hippocampal CA3 region of the mouse brain, artificially deforming the electronic skin to produce electrical stimulation, and recording the excitatory postsynaptic potential in the hippocampal CA1 region. It is indicated that hippocampal electrical stimulation can induce brain activity and synaptic changes, and synaptic plasticity can be characterized by quantitative measurement of synaptic potential. This study shows that skin that is not driven by electrically flexible electronics can be applied to nerve stimulation and effectively quantify changes in neurological function, and can be extended to novel multifunctional battery-free, wirelessly controlled, neural stimulation systems.
The project received the National Natural Science FoundationJin, national key research and development plan, Guangdong Province innovation team project and other funding.