A novel multisite silicon probe for laminar neural recordings.

Abstract: A laminar 24-contact silicon electrode was designed for acute extracellular neural recordings. The 7mm long shaft of the probe can be easily implanted in several brain areas of rodents and higher mammals without causing serious brain damage or bleeding. The multielectrode provides high quality electrophysiological measurements including local field potential, multiple and single unit activity recordings. Current source density calculation can be also obtained due to its equidistant contact spacing. The sensitivity of the silicon probe and the signal-to-noise ratio of the recordings can be further increased by lowering the impedances of the electrode either by using an electrochemical etching method or with depositing carbon nanotubes on the platinum recording sites. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]