Multifunctional Tetrode-like Drug delivery, Optical stimulation, and Electrophysiology (Tetro-DOpE) probes

Abstract

Having reliable tools for recording and manipulating circuit activity are essential to understand the complex patterns of neural dynamics that underlie brain function. We present Tetro-DOpE (Tetrode-like Drug delivery, Optical stimulation, and Electrophysiology) probes that can simultaneously record and manipulate neural activity in behaving rodents. We fabricated thin multifunctional fibers (<50 μm) using the scalable convergence thermal drawing process. Then, the thin fibers are bundled, similar to tetrode fabrication, to produce Tetro-DOpE probes. We demonstrated the multifunctionality (i.e., electrophysiology, optical stimulation, and drug delivery) of our probe in head-fixed behaving mice. Furthermore, we assembled a six-shank probe mounted on a microdrive which enabled stable recordings of over months when chronically implanted in freely behaving mice. These in vivo experiments demonstrate the potential of customizable, low cost, and accessible multifunctional Tetro-DOpE probes for investigation of neural circuitry in behaving animals.