Journal article
Hybrid optogenetic and electrical stimulation for greater spatial resolution and temporal fidelity of cochlear activation
Alex C Thompson, Andrew K Wise, William L Hart, Karina Needham, James B Fallon, Niliksha Gunewardene, Paul R Stoddart, Rachael T Richardson
JOURNAL OF NEURAL ENGINEERING | IOP PUBLISHING LTD | Published : 2020
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Compared to electrical stimulation, optogenetic stimulation has the potential to improve the spatial precision of neural activation in neuroprostheses, but it requires intense light and has relatively poor temporal kinetics. We tested the effect of hybrid stimulation, which is the combination of subthreshold optical and electrical stimuli, on spectral and temporal fidelity in the cochlea by recording multiunit activity in the inferior colliculus of channelrhodopsin (H134R variant) transgenic mice. APPROACH: Pulsed light or biphasic electrical pulses were delivered to cochlear spiral ganglion neurons of acutely deafened mice, either as individual stimuli or as hybrid stimuli for wh..
View full abstractGrants
Awarded by Action on Hearing Loss International Project Grant
Awarded by ARC Training Centre in Biodevices
Funding Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the technical support provided by Trung Nguyen, Brianna Flynn, Ella Trang, Caitlin Singleton, James Firth and Louise Rooney. Transgenic mice used in this study were generously donated by Prof Heather Young (University of Melbourne) and Prof Steven Petrou (The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health). Viral vectors were provided by Prof Karl Deisseroth. This work is supported by Action on Hearing Loss International Project Grant G89 and the ARC Training Centre in Biodevices (IC140100023). William Hart is supported by an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship. The Bionics Institute acknowledges the support it receives from the Victorian Government through its Operational Infrastructure Support Program.