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Resulting from its many unique properties, such as mechanical compliancy, electrochemical stability, and high conductivity, the conducting polymer poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) is a promising material for improving the stimulation efficiency of neural microelectrodes. The long‐term electrochemical stability of penetrating PEDOT‐coated electrodes undergoing high‐frequency stimulation is not extensively studied in vivo and the inflammatory response of the brain to PEDOT‐coated stimulating neural probes is not well understood. In this work, electropolymerized PEDOT doped with tetrafluoroborate (PEDOT:BF4) is selectively deposited on the electrode sites of platinum iridium (PtIr) neural probes and implanted for 2 weeks and 2 months to evaluate the effect of implantation on the electrical performance, and the foreign body response to the probes. Histological evaluation after 8 weeks of implantation reveals no difference in the degree of inflammation around PtIr and PEDOT probes. Additionally, PEDOT and PtIr probes are implanted for 60 days, subjected to daily high frequency stimulation and are monitored for changes in electrochemical properties. Impedance measurements reveal an overall lower impedance for PEDOT probes. These results indicate that PEDOT:BF4 coatings offer a promising approach for improving the stability of neural interfaces for stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The medial septum and diagonal band of Broca (MS-DBB) has an essential role for theta rhythm generation in the hippocampus and is critical for learning and memory. The MS-DBB contains cholinergic, GABAergic, and recently described glutamatergic neurons, but their specific contribution to theta generation is poorly understood. Here, we examined the role of MS-DBB glutamatergic neurons in theta rhythm using optogenetic activation and electrophysiological recordings performed in in vitro preparations and in freely behaving mice. The experiments in slices suggest that MS-DBB glutamatergic neurons provide prominent excitatory inputs to a majority of local GABAergic and a minority of septal cholinergic neurons. In contrast, activation of MS-DBB glutamatergic fiber terminals in hippocampal slices elicited weak postsynaptic responses in hippocampal neurons. In the in vitro septo-hippocampal preparation, activation of MS-DBB glutamatergic neurons did increase the rhythmicity of hippocampal theta oscillations, whereas stimulation of septo-hippocampal glutamatergic fibers in the fornix did not have an effect. In freely behaving mice, activation of these neurons in the MS-DBB strongly synchronized hippocampal theta rhythms over a wide range of frequencies, whereas activation of their projections to the hippocampus through fornix stimulations had no effect on theta rhythms, suggesting that MS-DBB glutamatergic neurons played a role in theta generation through local modulation of septal neurons. Together, these results provide the first evidence that MS-DBB glutamatergic neurons modulate local septal circuits, which in turn contribute to theta rhythms in the hippocampus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shape and volume of microglia (brain immune cells) change when they activate during brain inflammation and become migratory and phagocytic. Swollen rat microglia express a large Cl– current (IClswell), whose biophysical properties and functional roles are poorly understood and whose molecular identity is unknown. We constructed a fingerprint of useful biophysical properties for comparison with IClswell in other cell types and with cloned Cl– channels. The microglial IClswell was rapidly activated by cell swelling but not by voltage, and showed no time-dependence during voltage-clamp steps. Like IClswell in many cell types, the halide selectivity sequence was I– > Br– > Cl– > F–. However, it differed in lacking inactivation, even at +100 mV with high extracellular Mg2+, and in having a much lower single-channel conductance: 1–3 pS. Based on these fundamental differences, the microglia channel is apparently a different gene product than the more common intermediate-conductance IClswell. Microglia express several candidate genes, with relative mRNA expression levels of: CLIC1 > ClC3 > ICln ≥ ClC2 > Best2 > Best1 ≥ Best3 > Best4. Using a pharmacological toolbox, we show that all drugs that reduced the microglia current (NPPB, IAA-94, flufenamic acid and DIOA) increased the resting cell volume in isotonic solution and inhibited the regulatory volume decrease that followed cell swelling in hypotonic solution. Both channel blockers tested (NPPB and flufenamic acid) dose-dependently inhibited microglia phagocytosis of E. coli bacteria. Because IClswell is involved in microglia functions that involve shape and volume changes, it is potentially important for controlling their ability to migrate to damage sites and phagocytose dead cells and debris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]