Investigation and modulation of neural circuits in vivo at the cellular level are very important for studying functional connectivity in a brain. Korean researchers at Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) report the development of the brain chip for modulation of neural circuits as well as recording of neural signals at the cellular level in vivo. The study appears in the Nature Communications in August.

Brain chips provided an opportunity for studying neural activities at a specific region in the brain. However, previous methods have a limitation in dissecting long-range neural circuits with stimulations. Moreover, the large size of the previously reported ones induces more significant tissue damage. 

The researchers developed a multifunctional multi-shank MEMS brain chip that is monolithically integrated with an optical waveguide for optical stimulation, microfluidic channels for drug delivery, and microelectrode arrays for recording neural signals from different regions at the cellular level. They successfully demonstrated the functionality of our probe by confirming and modulating the functional connectivity between the hippocampal CA3 and CA1 regions in vivo. 

Dr. Cho said that “The brain chip will be widely used for brain researches of modulating brain functions as well as reveling brain functions”.“Also, the developed brain chip will enable bi-directional brain-machine interface systems in the future”, Dr. Cho said.

[Reference] Shin H. et al., (2019) “Multifunctional multi-shank neural probe for investigating and modulating long-range neural circuits in vivo.” Nature Communications 

[Main Author] Hyogeun Shin (Korea Institue of Science and Technology), Il-Joo Cho (Korea Institue of Science and Technology)

* Contact email: Dr. Il-Joo Cho (ijcho@kist.re.kr)