ePoster

Wireless headstage controlled via Bluetooth for closed-loop optogenetics experiments in rodents

Patrícia Silva, Margarida Falcão, Mafalda Abrantes, Francisco Neves, Tiago Pereira, Jérôme Borme, Pedro Alpuim, Patricia Monteiro, Luis Jacinto
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Patrícia Silva, Margarida Falcão, Mafalda Abrantes, Francisco Neves, Tiago Pereira, Jérôme Borme, Pedro Alpuim, Patricia Monteiro, Luis Jacinto

Abstract

Optogenetics is an invaluable technique in neuroscience to study brain circuits. However, conventional optogenetic systems for rodents use optical fibers tethered to steady-state lasers to deliver light to the brain, which increases animal’s anxiety and hinders natural behavior. Therefore, we developed a novel wireless headstage that simplifies integration in closed-loop experiments with optogenetics. For the first time, we present a wire-free headstage to deliver light to the brain through either an optical fiber or a custom-designed and fabricated µLED-integrated neural probe.The reusable headstage incorporates a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) receiver, a rechargeable battery, and either a surface-mount LED that couples to an optical fiber, or a neural probe connector. Its dimensions are 15 x 17 mm and weighs only 1.5 g. Control of stimulation parameters and triggering of optogenetic stimulation is done though a simple Arduino-BLE emitter controlled by an user-friendly app, which allows easy integration with closed-loop designs in a myriad of different tools used by the neuroscientific community.The custom optical probe was fabricated with standard lithography processes in silicon, and the µLED was mounted with a pick-and-place machine. The cross-sectional area of the µLED probe is only 0.009 mm2, which is smaller than that of a 100 µm optical fiber, and it weighs 0.3 g.We validated the headstage in a motor behavior paradigm and a closed-loop experiment where online classification of behavior through computer vision and machine learning can trigger optical stimulation in a mouse model of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Unique ID: fens-24/wireless-headstage-controlled-bluetooth-71733862