Abstract
Knowledge about body motion kinematics and underlying muscle contraction dynamics usually derives from electromyographic (EMG) recordings. However, acquisition of such signals in snakes is challenging because electrodes either attached to or implanted beneath the skin may unintentionally be removed by force or friction caused from undulatory motion, thus severely impeding chronic EMG recordings. Here, we present a reliable method for stable subdermal implantation of up to eight bipolar electrodes above the target muscles. The mechanical stability of the inserted electrodes and the overnight coverage of the snake body with a “sleeping bag” ensured the recording of reliable and robust chronic EMG activity. The utility of the technique was verified by daily acquisition of high signal-to-noise activity from all target sites over four consecutive days during stimulus-evoked postural reactions in Amazon tree boas and Western diamondback rattlesnakes. The successful demonstration of the chronic recording suggests that this technique can improve acute experiments by enabling the collection of larger data sets from single individuals.
Highlights
Acquisition of long-term chronic EMG data is well-established in many animal species ranging from fish (Cooke et al, 2004), to mammals such as mouse (Tysseling et al, 2013), monkeys (Park et al, 2000), and even humans (Kern et al, 2001)
To overcome the technical limitations of sEMG recordings in snakes and to allow for chronic multi-site muscle activity analyses, we have developed a new technique for collecting multi-channel EMG data from multiple body segments during the execution of a natural snake behavior
The success of simultaneous EMG recordings from eight bipolar electrodes along the snake body was initially demonstrated by data sets of muscle activity recorded from two different Amazon tree boas 1 day after electrode implantation (Figures 2–4)
Summary
Acquisition of long-term chronic EMG data is well-established in many animal species ranging from fish (Cooke et al, 2004), to mammals such as mouse (Tysseling et al, 2013), monkeys (Park et al, 2000), and even humans (Kern et al, 2001). SEMG recordings in snakes are technically challenging because the signal is lost when the animals remove electrodes and/or recording devices while rubbing their body against objects Since this affects the reliability of chronic data acquisition, sEMGs are rarely used for muscle activity recording in reptiles. Cyanoacrylate glue, vet-wrap adhesive bandage, and plastic cement is mostly used to secure the electrode wires on the outside skin and to tie the wires to each other to form a single strand of wires (for a detailed description of this classic technique see: Jayne, 1988; Sharpe et al, 2013) This technique of intramuscular EMG recordings has been used previously to shed light on a EMG Snakes variety of snake behaviors from locomotion (Jayne, 1988; Newman and Jayne, 2018) to feeding and drinking (Cundall and Ganz, 1979; Cundall, 1983; Berkhoudt et al, 1994) and on more specific behaviors such as strikes (Young, 2010) or venom spitting (Young et al, 2004, 2009). Moon (2000) was successful in keeping bipolar hook electrodes in place within snake axial muscles for up to 1 week performing chronic EMG recordings
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