Name: recordings of neural circuit activation in freely behaving animals
Uploaded: 2009-07-22T17:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Recordings of Neural Circuit Activation in Freely Behaving Animals at JoVE.com

The bath recording technique was first used by Fricke (1984)8 and Beall et al. (1990)9 to measure electric fields generated during tail-flips. The technique was later modified and improved in the laboratory of Dr. Donald Edwards (Georgia State University) by his former graduate student Dr. Fadi A. Issa and his former postdoctoral associate Dr. Jens Herberholz. Further refinements have been made and new research applications have been tested in the laboratory of Dr. Jens Herberholz at the University of Maryland. I would like to thank my colleague Dr. David Yager for letting me use his high-speed video system and my research assistants David Rotstein and William Liden for help with the experiments.

Part 1: Recording chamber
<ol>
<li>The recording chamber is of rectangular shape and is made of thin walled glass. Chamber dimensions are 8.5 cm x 2 cm x 5 cm (length x width x height) for animals of 2.5 &ndash; 3.5 cm total lengths (measured from rostrum to telson). See Fig. 1 for an example of a chamber used in our experiments.</li>
<li>Alternatively, recording chambers can be made from other materials (e.g., non-toxic clear plastic). Chambers size may vary according to experimental procedure and chambers should...

<ol>
	<li>Herberholz, J., Issa, F. A., Edwards, D. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Patterns+of+neural+circuit+activation+and+behavior+during+dominance+hierarchy+formation+in+freely+behaving+crayfish.">Patterns of neural circuit activation and behavior during dominance hierarchy formation in freely behaving crayfish.</a> J. Neurosci. 21, 2759-2767 (2001).</li><li>Herberholz, J., Sen, M. M., Edwards, D. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Escape+behavior+and+escape+circuit+activation+in+juvenile+crayfish+during+prey-predator+interactions.">Escape behavior and escape circuit activation in juvenile crayfish during prey-predator interactions.</a> J. Exp. Biol. 207, 1855-1863 (2004).</li><li>Liden, W. H., Herberholz, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Behavioral+and+neural+responses+of+juvenile+crayfish+to+moving+shadows.J.">Behavioral and neural responses of juvenile crayfish to moving shadows.J.</a> Exp. Biol. 211, 1355-1361 (2008).</li><li>Finley, L. A., Macmillan, D. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=An+analysis+of+field+potentials+during+different+tailflip+behaviours+in+crayfish.">An analysis of field potentials during different tailflip behaviours in crayfish.</a> Mar. Freshw. Behav. Physiol. 35, 221-234 (2002).</li><li>Eaton, R. C., Lee, R. K. K., Foreman, M. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Mauthner+cell+and+other+identified+neurons+of+the+brainstem+escape+network+of+fish.">The Mauthner cell and other identified neurons of the brainstem escape network of fish.</a> Prog. Neurobiol. 63, 467-485 (2001).</li><li>Canfield, J. G. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Some+voluntary+C-bends+may+be+Mauthner+neuron+initiated.">Some voluntary C-bends may be Mauthner neuron initiated.</a> J. Comp. Physiol. A. 193, 1055-1064 (2007).</li><li>W&#246;hl, S., Schuster, S. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+predictive+start+of+hunting+archer+fish:+a+flexible+and+precise+motor+pattern+performed+with+the+kinematics+of+an+escape+C-start.">The predictive start of hunting archer fish: a flexible and precise motor pattern performed with the kinematics of an escape C-start.</a> J. Exp. Biol. 210, 311-324 (2007).</li><li>Fricke, R. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Development+of+habituation+in+the+crayfish+due+to+selective+weakening+of+electrical+synapses.">Development of habituation in the crayfish due to selective weakening of electrical synapses.</a> Brain Res. 322, 139-143 (1984).</li><li>Beall, S. P., Langley, D. J., Edwards, D. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Inhibition+of+escape+tailflip+in+crayfish+during+backward+walking+and+the+defense+posture.">Inhibition of escape tailflip in crayfish during backward walking and the defense posture.</a> J. Exp. Biol. 152, 577-582 (1990).</li></ol>

Non-invasive recordings of single neuron activity or neural circuit activation are difficult to obtain in unrestrained animals. The method described here provides a means to identify patterns of neural activation underlying naturally occurring behavior.
In the past, we successfully used this technique to measure patterns of activity in neural escape circuits of juvenile crayfish during the formation of social dominance hierarchies1, during attacks from natural predators2,...

recordings of neural circuit activation in freely behaving animals

The relationship between patterns of neural activity and corresponding behavioral expression is difficult to establish in unrestrained animals. Traditional non-invasive methods require at least partially restrained research subjects, and they only allow identification of large numbers of simultaneously activated neurons. On the other hand, small ensembles of neurons or individual neurons can only be measured using single-cell recordings obtained from largely reduced preparations. Since the expression of natural behavior is limited in restrained and dissected animals, the underlying neural mechanisms that control such behavior are difficult to identify. 
Here, I present a non-invasive physiological technique that allows measuring neural circuit activation in freely behaving animals. Using a pair of wire electrodes inside a water-filled chamber, the bath electrodes record neural and muscular field potentials generated by juvenile crayfish during natural or experimentally evoked escape responses. The primary escape responses of crayfish are mediated by three different types of tail-flips which move the animals away from the point of stimulation. Each type of tail-flip is controlled by its own neural circuit; the two fastest and most powerful escape responses require activation of different sets of large &#8220;command&#8221; neurons. In combination with behavioral observations, the bath electrode recordings allow unambiguous identification of these neurons and the associated neural circuits. Thus activity of neural circuitry underlying naturally occurring behavior can be measured in unrestrained animals and in different behavioral contexts.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Recordings of Neural Circuit Activation in Freely Behaving Animals at JoVE.com

Recordings of Neural Circuit Activation in Freely Behaving Animals

Non-invasive measurements of neural activity patterns in freely behaving animals are obtained by combining neurophysiological recordings with high speed videography.

The relationship between patterns of neural activity and corresponding behavioral expression is difficult to establish in unrestrained animals. ...

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