An electrophysiological breakthrough for diabetic brain studies

A research team from the Institute for Research on Next-generation Semiconductor and Sensing Science at the Toyohashi University of Technology, National Institute of Technology, Ibaraki College, and TechnoPro R&D Company has successfully demonstrated low-invasive neural recording technology for the brain tissue of diabetic mice.

This was achieved using a small needle-electrode with a diameter of 4 µm. Recording neuronal activity within the diabetic brain tissue is particularly challenging due to various complications, including the development of cerebrovascular disease. Because of the significant advantage of the miniaturized needle-electrode compared to conventional technologies, the needle electrode minimized tissue injury and enabled stable recording for an entire month.

Diabetes is known to cause various complications, including the development of cerebrovascular disease, which is closely linked to Alzheimer’s disease due to its contribution to neuronal reduction. In the study of brain diseases, quantitative analysis through recording of neuronal activities with microelectrode holds great potential. However, recording from diabetic brains is expected to be more challenging than normal brains due to the complications associated with electrode penetration. The research team has successfully addressed this challenge by developing a low-invasive recording technology.

“Our challenge was to develop a technique to record neuronal activities from a mouse model of diabetes. We achieved this goal by demonstrating a neural recording technique using a microelectrode with a tip diameter of 4 µm. Our technique successfully recorded neuronal activity in diabetic mice while minimizing tissue responses. These findings suggest that our electrode can be applied to various damaged brain tissues, not only diabetes but also other diseases,” explains the first authors of the article, master student Rioki Sanda and Ph.D. Koji Yamashita.

Reference: An electrophysiological breakthrough for diabetic brain studies; Biosensors and Bioelectronics ; DOI:10.1016/j.bios.2023.115605