{"title":"Effects of tACS-Like Electrical Stimulation on Correlated Firing of Retinal Ganglion Cells: Part III.","authors":"Franklin R Amthor, Christianne E Strang","doi":"10.2147/EB.S313161","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a stimulation protocol used for learning enhancement and mitigation of cognitive dysfunction. Correlated firing has been postulated to be a meta-code that links neuronal spike responses associated with a single entity and may be an important component of high-level cognitive functions. Thus, changes in the covariance firing structure of CNS neurons such as retinal ganglion cells are one potential mechanism by which tACS can exert its effects.</p><p><strong>Materials and methods: </strong>We used microelectrode arrays to record light-evoked spike responses of 24 retinal ganglion cells in 7 rabbit eyecup preparations and analyzed the covariance between 30 pairs of neighboring retinal ganglion cells before, during, and after 10-minute application of alternating currents of 1 microampere at 10 or 20 Hz.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>tACS stimulation significantly changed the covariance structure of correlated firing in 60% of simultaneously recorded retinal ganglion cells. Application of tACS in the retinal preparation increased cross-covariance in 26% of cell pairs, an effect usually associated with increased light-evoked ganglion cell firing. tACS associated decreases in cross-covariance occurred in 37% of cell pairs. Increased covariance was more common in response to the first, 10-minute application of tACS in isolated retina preparation. Changes in covariance were rare after repeated stimulation, and more likely to result in decreased covariance.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Retinal ganglion cell correlated firing is modulated by 1 microampere tACS currents showing that electrical stimulation can significantly and persistently change the structure of the correlated firing of simultaneously recorded rabbit retinal ganglion cells.</p>","PeriodicalId":51844,"journal":{"name":"Eye and Brain","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2022-01-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/7f/d2/eb-14-1.PMC8763268.pdf","citationCount":"3","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Eye and Brain","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2147/EB.S313161","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2022/1/1 0:00:00","PubModel":"eCollection","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"OPHTHALMOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 3
Abstract
Purpose: Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a stimulation protocol used for learning enhancement and mitigation of cognitive dysfunction. Correlated firing has been postulated to be a meta-code that links neuronal spike responses associated with a single entity and may be an important component of high-level cognitive functions. Thus, changes in the covariance firing structure of CNS neurons such as retinal ganglion cells are one potential mechanism by which tACS can exert its effects.
Materials and methods: We used microelectrode arrays to record light-evoked spike responses of 24 retinal ganglion cells in 7 rabbit eyecup preparations and analyzed the covariance between 30 pairs of neighboring retinal ganglion cells before, during, and after 10-minute application of alternating currents of 1 microampere at 10 or 20 Hz.
Results: tACS stimulation significantly changed the covariance structure of correlated firing in 60% of simultaneously recorded retinal ganglion cells. Application of tACS in the retinal preparation increased cross-covariance in 26% of cell pairs, an effect usually associated with increased light-evoked ganglion cell firing. tACS associated decreases in cross-covariance occurred in 37% of cell pairs. Increased covariance was more common in response to the first, 10-minute application of tACS in isolated retina preparation. Changes in covariance were rare after repeated stimulation, and more likely to result in decreased covariance.
Conclusion: Retinal ganglion cell correlated firing is modulated by 1 microampere tACS currents showing that electrical stimulation can significantly and persistently change the structure of the correlated firing of simultaneously recorded rabbit retinal ganglion cells.
期刊介绍:
Eye and Brain is an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on basic research, clinical findings, and expert reviews in the field of visual science and neuro-ophthalmology. The journal’s unique focus is the link between two well-known visual centres, the eye and the brain, with an emphasis on the importance of such connections. All aspects of clinical and especially basic research on the visual system are addressed within the journal as well as significant future directions in vision research and therapeutic measures. This unique journal focuses on neurological aspects of vision – both physiological and pathological. The scope of the journal spans from the cornea to the associational visual cortex and all the visual centers in between. Topics range from basic biological mechanisms to therapeutic treatment, from simple organisms to humans, and utilizing techniques from molecular biology to behavior. The journal especially welcomes primary research articles or review papers that make the connection between the eye and the brain. Specific areas covered in the journal include: Physiology and pathophysiology of visual centers, Eye movement disorders and strabismus, Cellular, biochemical, and molecular features of the visual system, Structural and functional organization of the eye and of the visual cortex, Metabolic demands of the visual system, Diseases and disorders with neuro-ophthalmic manifestations, Clinical and experimental neuro-ophthalmology and visual system pathologies, Epidemiological studies.