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Lookup NU author(s): Anderson Brito Da SilvaORCiD, Professor Roger Whittaker, Professor Mark Cunningham
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Increasingly, neuroscientists are taking the opportunity to use live human tissue obtained from elective neurosurgical procedures for electrophysiological studies in vitro. Access to this valuable resource permits unique studies into the network dynamics that contribute to the generation of pathological electrical activity in the human epileptic brain. Whilst this approach has provided insights into the mechanistic features of electrophysiological patterns associated with human epilepsy, it is not without technical and methodological challenges. This review outlines the main difficulties associated with working with epileptic human brain slices from the point of collection, through the stages of preparation, storage and recording. Moreover, it outlines the limitations, in terms of the nature of epileptic activity that can be observed in such tissue, in particular, the rarity of spontaneous ictal discharges, we discuss manipulations that can be utilised to induce such activity. In addition to discussing conventional electrophysiological techniques that are routinely employed in epileptic human brain slices, we review how imaging and multielectrode array recordings could provide novel insights into the network dynamics of human epileptogenesis. Acute studies in human brain slices are ultimately limited by the lifetime of the tissue so overcoming this issue provides increased opportunity for information gain. We review the literature with respect to organotypic culture techniques that may hold the key to prolonging the viability of this material. A combination of long-term culture techniques, viral transduction approaches and electrophysiology in human brain slices promotes the possibility of large scale monitoring and manipulation of neuronal activity in epileptic microcircuits.
Author(s): Jones RS, daSilva AB, Whittaker RG, Woodhall GL, Cunningham MO
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Neuroscience Methods
Year: 2016
Volume: 260
Pages: 221-232
Print publication date: 15/02/2016
Online publication date: 03/10/2015
Acceptance date: 23/09/2015
ISSN (print): 0165-0270
ISSN (electronic): 1872-678X
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.09.021
DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.09.021
PubMed id: 26434706
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