Abstract
Modern electroceuticals are bound to employ the usage of electrical high frequency (130–180 Hz) stimulation carried out under closed loop control, most prominent in the case of movement disorders. However, particular challenges are faced when electrical recordings of neuronal tissue are carried out during high frequency electrical stimulation, both in-vivo and in-vitro. This stimulation produces undesired artifacts and can render the recorded signal only partially useful. The extent of these artifacts is often reduced by temporarily grounding the recording input during stimulation pulses. In the following study, we quantify the effects of this method, “blanking,” on the spike count and spike train statistics. Starting from a theoretical standpoint, we calculate a loss in the absolute number of action potentials, depending on: width of the blanking window, frequency of stimulation, and intrinsic neuronal activity. These calculations were then corroborated by actual high signal to noise ratio (SNR) single cell recordings. We state that, for clinically relevant frequencies of 130 Hz (used for movement disorders) and realistic blanking windows of 2 ms, up to 27% of actual existing spikes are lost. We strongly advice cautioned use of the blanking method when spike rate quantification is attempted.Impact statementBlanking (artifact removal by temporarily grounding input), depending on recording parameters, can lead to significant spike loss. Very careful use of blanking circuits is advised.
Highlights
Electrical stimulation of neuronal tissue is used to provide insights into neuronal responses (Penfield, 1958; Brindley and Lewin, 1968; McCreery et al, 1990; Tehovnik, 1996), to influence brain networks (Pezaris and Reid, 2007; Xie et al, 2014; Choi et al, 2016), and to alleviate clinically relevant symptoms of neurological disorders (Kandel et al, 2000; Tronnier et al, 2002)
When it comes to utilizing electrical stimulation in the nervous system, electrophysiological recordings from an increasing number of neurons and an increasing number of experimental settings are in danger of being corrupted by the infamous stimulation artifact
Even though it seems evident that the usage of any type of blanking circuit in real spike recordings is to be with great caution and its effects need to be studied prior to use, this report is, to our knowledge, the first one to quantify the detrimental effect blanking may have with respect to the actual event counts at clinically relevant stimulation frequencies
Summary
Electrical stimulation of neuronal tissue is used to provide insights into neuronal responses (Penfield, 1958; Brindley and Lewin, 1968; McCreery et al, 1990; Tehovnik, 1996), to influence brain networks (Pezaris and Reid, 2007; Xie et al, 2014; Choi et al, 2016), and to alleviate clinically relevant symptoms of neurological disorders (Kandel et al, 2000; Tronnier et al, 2002). Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) with high frequencies (HFS), which has similar effects to lesioning (Benabid et al, 1991), but is not irreversible, has gained popularity since the 90’s. It is considered to be an effective, symptomatic treatment for diseases such as Parkinson’s or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
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