Spike Shape Research Articles

Time color map and histogram of electromyography (EMG) sample amplitudes: possible tools for global electromyogram analysis by images

To present a method for surface electromyogram (EMG) analysis by images. 12 healthy sedentary males were studied. Surface EMG (from lateral deltoid) was recorded (1000 samples/s) and analysed during self-selected angular speed shoulder abduction/adduction actions, made at 40% of 1 revolution maximum, up to exhaustion. EMG was rectified and normalized to its maximum (100%). Histogram of sample amplitudes: the 0–100% amplitude range was divided in 20 levels (step 5%). Each sample was assigned to its bin for the histogram generation 2D time color map: the amplitude range was divided in five colored levels: blue (0–20%), green (21–40%), yellow (41–60%), orange (61–80%), red (81–100%). Along the time bar each ms was colored according to the sample relative amplitude. The whole colored bar was divided into 100 ms slices. These short color bars were graphically stacked one on top of each other and interpolated on the x/y plane using a standard contour plotting procedure. The spike shape analysis (SSA) was performed and the average rectified value (ARV) was calculated. From the first to the last action the histogram median amplitude increased from 34.33 ± 12.36 to 46.74 ± 14.04%. On the 2D map the areas of activity hues enlarged in both directions showing more regular recurrence of longer electrical events. As expected, the ARV increased and the SSA reflected the spikes changes at fatigue. Histogram of the EMG sample amplitudes and 2D time color map provide data, at a glance, about the regularity of the EMG spikes occurrence and their amplitude distribution. This is a different, adjunct information with respect to the one provided by traditional EMG time domain analysis measurements.

Comprehensive Morpho-Electrotonic Analysis Shows 2 Distinct Classes of L2 and L3 Pyramidal Neurons in Human Temporal Cortex.

There have been few quantitative characterizations of the morphological, biophysical, and cable properties of neurons in the human neocortex. We employed feature-based statistical methods on a rare data set of 60 3D reconstructed pyramidal neurons from L2 and L3 in the human temporal cortex (HL2/L3 PCs) removed after brain surgery. Of these cells, 25 neurons were also characterized physiologically. Thirty-two morphological features were analyzed (e.g., dendritic surface area, 36 333 ± 18 157 μm2; number of basal trees, 5.55 ± 1.47; dendritic diameter, 0.76 ± 0.28 μm). Eighteen features showed a significant gradual increase with depth from the pia (e.g., dendritic length and soma radius). The other features showed weak or no correlation with depth (e.g., dendritic diameter). The basal dendritic terminals in HL2/L3 PCs are particularly elongated, enabling multiple nonlinear processing units in these dendrites. Unlike the morphological features, the active biophysical features (e.g., spike shapes and rates) and passive/cable features (e.g., somatic input resistance, 47.68 ± 15.26 MΩ, membrane time constant, 12.03 ± 1.79 ms, average dendritic cable length, 0.99 ± 0.24) were depth-independent. A novel descriptor for apical dendritic topology yielded 2 distinct classes, termed hereby as “slim-tufted” and “profuse-tufted” HL2/L3 PCs; the latter class tends to fire at higher rates. Thus, our morpho-electrotonic analysis shows 2 distinct classes of HL2/L3 PCs.

Temperature manipulation of neuronal dynamics in a forebrain motor control nucleus.

Different neuronal types within brain motor areas contribute to the generation of complex motor behaviors. A widely studied songbird forebrain nucleus (HVC) has been recognized as fundamental in shaping the precise timing characteristics of birdsong. This is based, among other evidence, on the stretching and the “breaking” of song structure when HVC is cooled. However, little is known about the temperature effects that take place in its neurons. To address this, we investigated the dynamics of HVC both experimentally and computationally. We developed a technique where simultaneous electrophysiological recordings were performed during temperature manipulation of HVC. We recorded spontaneous activity and found three effects: widening of the spike shape, decrease of the firing rate and change in the interspike interval distribution. All these effects could be explained with a detailed conductance based model of all the neurons present in HVC. Temperature dependence of the ionic channel time constants explained the first effect, while the second was based in the changes of the maximal conductance using single synaptic excitatory inputs. The last phenomenon, only emerged after introducing a more realistic synaptic input to the inhibitory interneurons. Two timescales were present in the interspike distributions. The behavior of one timescale was reproduced with different input balances received form the excitatory neurons, whereas the other, which disappears with cooling, could not be found assuming poissonian synaptic inputs. Furthermore, the computational model shows that the bursting of the excitatory neurons arises naturally at normal brain temperature and that they have an intrinsic delay at low temperatures. The same effect occurs at single synapses, which may explain song stretching. These findings shed light on the temperature dependence of neuronal dynamics and present a comprehensive framework to study neuronal connectivity. This study, which is based on intrinsic neuronal characteristics, may help to understand emergent behavioral changes.

Improvement of Nociceptive Spike Clusterization with Shape Approximation

Cluster spike analysis is widely used for studies of neuronal activity when electrical signals are sorted out and grouped according to the different shapes. We recently applied this method to sort out the nociceptive spikes in the trigeminal nerve implicated in generation of migraine pain. However, the electrical noise leading to less accuracy of calculated spike parameters often hinder the correct sorting of nerve signals. In this study, in order to improve the accuracy of calculations, we explored the prior approximation of spike shapes before applying clusterization. The prior fitting of spike shapes allowed us to extract signal parameters much more precisely and detect the strongly increased number of spike clusters which is close to the expected number of fibers in the trigeminal nerve. Prior approximation improved cluster analysis outcomes and, importantly, revealed new clusters that demonstrated the different functional properties, suggesting that their function was previously hidden within the multiple firing.

Shape of change in internet based behavioral activation treatment for depression

Shape of change, sudden gains and depression spikes were examined in an online 12-session Behavioral Activation (BA) treatment for depression. Client and therapist factors related to sudden gains were examined to investigate processes associated with outcome. Methods: Participants were postpartum Women with Major Depressive Disorder (n=42) who received online BA supported in 30-minute telephone sessions by a mental health worker. Depression symptoms were assessed at each session and number of sessions completed were recorded by the online program. Therapist records were rated for client stressful life event and therapist concrete focus. A quadratic pattern provided the best fit with the data; a cubic pattern was a poor fit. Sudden gains, but not depression spikes, predicted lower depression scores at 17-week outcome. Women who had higher baseline social functioning, did not experience a stressful life event during therapy, and completed more online modules, but not more telephone sessions, were more likely to have a sudden gain. A concrete therapist focus was associated with sudden gains. These results extend research on trajectories of change and sudden gains to an online BA treatment and to postpartum depression, and suggest important client and therapist factors associated with sudden gains.

The basis of sharp spike onset in standard biophysical models.

In most vertebrate neurons, spikes initiate in the axonal initial segment (AIS). When recorded in the soma, they have a surprisingly sharp onset, as if sodium (Na) channels opened abruptly. The main view stipulates that spikes initiate in a conventional manner at the distal end of the AIS, then progressively sharpen as they backpropagate to the soma. We examined the biophysical models used to substantiate this view, and we found that spikes do not initiate through a local axonal current loop that propagates along the axon, but through a global current loop encompassing the AIS and soma, which forms an electrical dipole. Therefore, the phenomenon is not adequately modeled as the backpropagation of an electrical wave along the axon, since the wavelength would be as large as the entire system. Instead, in these models, we found that spike initiation rather follows the critical resistive coupling model proposed recently, where the Na current entering the AIS is matched by the axial resistive current flowing to the soma. Besides demonstrating it by examining the balance of currents at spike initiation, we show that the observed increase in spike sharpness along the axon is artifactual and disappears when an appropriate measure of rapidness is used; instead, somatic onset rapidness can be predicted from spike shape at initiation site. Finally, we reproduce the phenomenon in a two-compartment model, showing that it does not rely on propagation. In these models, the sharp onset of somatic spikes is therefore not an artifact of observing spikes at the incorrect location, but rather the signature that spikes are initiated through a global soma-AIS current loop forming an electrical dipole.

Spike shape analysis for the surface and needle electromyographic interference pattern

The ability of surface and needle electromyographic (EMG) spike shape measures to match changes in motor unit recruitment, firing rate, and synchronization during force gradation, were compared. The purpose of the study was to determine the force level at which the surface EMG spike shape measures no longer parallel their indwelling analogues. Secondarily, the impact of the noise rejection criterion on the sensitivity of the spike shape measures was examined. Maximal isometric elbow flexion ramp contractions were performed while recording surface and needle EMG from the biceps brachii. Spike shape measures were calculated in 500 ms epochs over the duration of the ramp contraction. The spike threshold for needle EMG spike detection was varied to examine the effect of the algorithm’s selectivity. The pattern of change across force levels between surface and needle EMG measures was compared. Spike detection resulted in the same pattern of change for both surface and needle amplitude measures over the gradation of force. Frequency measures and mean number of peaks per spike (MNPPS) were affected by electrode-source distance and spike threshold. Surface and needle frequency measures changed in parallel to 50% MVC while the MNPPS plateaued at 50–55% MVC. Spike shape analysis of surface EMG can track changes in the interference pattern produced by recruitment and rate-coding up to 50% MVC.

Hierarchical estimation of neural activity through explicit identification of temporally synchronous spikes

Extracellular recording from living neurons employing microelectrode arrays has attracted paramount attention in recent years as a way to investigate the functionality and disorders of the brain. To decipher useful information from the recorded signals, accurate and efficient neural spike activity detection and sorting becomes an essential prerequisite. Traditional approaches rely on thresholding to detect individual spikes and clustering to identify subset groups; however, these methods fail to identify temporally synchronous spikes due to neuronal synchrony. To address this challenge, we introduce a novel spike sorting algorithm incorporating both quantitative and probabilistic techniques to better approximate the ground truth information of the spike activity. A novel pre-clustering method for identifying key features that can form natural clusters and a dimension reduction technique for identifying the spiking activity are introduced. To address the temporal neuronal synchrony phenomenon leading to detection of multineural overlapped spikes, a procedure for template spike shape estimation and iterative recognition is developed employing the cross correlation methodology tailored to individual neuron's spike rate. A performance comparison between the proposed method and existing techniques in terms of the number of spikes identified and efficiency of sorting the spikes is presented. The outcome shows the effectiveness of the proposed method in identifying temporally synchronous spikes.

The Influence of Supporting Ions on the Electrochemical Detection of Individual Silver Nanoparticles: Understanding the Shape and Frequency of Current Transients in Nano-impacts.

We report the influence of electrolyte composition and concentration on the stochastic amperometric detection of individual silver nanoparticles at microelectrode arrays and show that the sensor response at certain electrode potentials is dependent on both the conductivity of the electrolyte and the concentration of chloride ions. We further demonstrate that the chloride concentration in solution heavily influences the characteristic current spike shape of recorded nanoparticle impacts: While typically too short to be resolved in the measured current, the spike widths are significantly broadened at low chloride concentrations below 10 mm and range into the millisecond regime. The analysis of more than 25 000 spikes reveals that this effect can be explained by the diffusive mass transport of chloride ions to the nanoparticle, which limits the oxidation rate of individual silver nanoparticles to silver chloride at the chosen electrode potential.

Training-free compressed sensing for wireless neural recording using analysis model and group weighted -minimization

Objective. Data compression is crucial for resource-constrained wireless neural recording applications with limited data bandwidth, and compressed sensing (CS) theory has successfully demonstrated its potential in neural recording applications. In this paper, an analytical, training-free CS recovery method, termed group weighted analysis -minimization (GWALM), is proposed for wireless neural recording. Approach. The GWALM method consists of three parts: (1) the analysis model is adopted to enforce sparsity of the neural signals, therefore overcoming the drawbacks of conventional synthesis models and enhancing the recovery performance. (2) A multi-fractional-order difference matrix is constructed as the analysis operator, thus avoiding the dictionary learning procedure and reducing the need for previously acquired data and computational complexities. (3) By exploiting the statistical properties of the analysis coefficients, a group weighting approach is developed to enhance the performance of analysis -minimization. Main results. Experimental results on synthetic and real datasets reveal that the proposed approach outperforms state-of-the-art CS-based methods in terms of both spike recovery quality and classification accuracy. Significance. Energy and area efficiency of the GWALM make it an ideal candidate for resource-constrained, large scale wireless neural recording applications. The training-free feature of the GWALM further improves its robustness to spike shape variation, thus making it more practical for long term wireless neural recording.

Unsupervised Spike Sorting for Large-Scale, High-Density Multielectrode Arrays

We present a method for automated spike sorting for recordings with high-density, large-scale multielectrode arrays. Exploiting the dense sampling of single neurons by multiple electrodes, an efficient, low-dimensional representation of detected spikes consisting of estimated spatial spike locations and dominant spike shape features is exploited for fast and reliable clustering into single units. Millions of events can be sorted in minutes, and the method is parallelized and scales better than quadratically with the number of detected spikes. Performance is demonstrated using recordings with a 4,096-channel array and validated using anatomical imaging, optogeneticstimulation, and model-based quality control. A comparison with semi-automated, shape-based spike sorting exposes significant limitations of conventional methods. Our approach demonstrates that it is feasible to reliably isolate the activity of up to thousands of neurons and that dense, multi-channel probes substantially aid reliable spike sorting.

Kv1.1 channelopathy abolishes presynaptic spike width modulation by subthreshold somatic depolarization

Although action potentials propagate along axons in an all-or-none manner, subthreshold membrane potential fluctuations at the soma affect neurotransmitter release from synaptic boutons. An important mechanism underlying analog-digital modulation is depolarization-mediated inactivation of presynaptic Kv1-family potassium channels, leading to action potential broadening and increased calcium influx. Previous studies have relied heavily on recordings from blebs formed after axon transection, which may exaggerate the passive propagation of somatic depolarization. We recorded instead from small boutons supplied by intact axons identified with scanning ion conductance microscopy in primary hippocampal cultures and asked how distinct potassium channels interact in determining the basal spike width and its modulation by subthreshold somatic depolarization. Pharmacological or genetic deletion of Kv1.1 broadened presynaptic spikes without preventing further prolongation by brief depolarizing somatic prepulses. A heterozygous mouse model of episodic ataxia type 1 harboring a dominant Kv1.1 mutation had a similar broadening effect on basal spike shape as deletion of Kv1.1; however, spike modulation by somatic prepulses was abolished. These results argue that the Kv1.1 subunit is not necessary for subthreshold modulation of spike width. However, a disease-associated mutant subunit prevents the interplay of analog and digital transmission, possibly by disrupting the normal stoichiometry of presynaptic potassium channels.

On the present shape of the Oort cloud and the flux of “new” comets

Long term evolution of an initial set of 107 Oort cloud comets is performed for the age of the solar system taking into account the action of passing stars using 10 different sequences of stellar encounters, Galactic tides and the gravity of the giant planets. The initial conditions refer to a disk-shaped Oort cloud precursor, concentrated toward the ecliptic with perihelia in the region of Uranus and Neptune. Our results show that the shape of the Oort cloud quickly reach a kind of steady state beyond a semi-major axis greater than about 2000 AU (this threshold depending on the evolution time-span), with a Boltzmann distribution of the orbital energy. The stars act in an opposite way to what was found in previous papers, that is they emptied an initial Tidal Active Zone that is overfilled with respect to the isotropic case. Consequently, the inclusion of stellar perturbations strongly affect the shape of the Oort spike. On the contrary, the Oort spike shape appears to be poorly dependent on the stellar sequences used, whereas the total flux of observable comets and the proportion of retrograde comets for the inner part of the spike are significantly dependent of it. Then it has been highlighted that the total flux, the shape of the Oort spike and the shape of the final Oort cloud are almost independent of the initial distribution of orbital energy considered.

Cross-Testing between Four Varieties: HD 1220 (HIDHAB), ARZ, MAHON X DEMIAS and ANZA of Constantine Wheat

Inter-varietal crosses were made between 4 varieties: HD 1220 (HIDHAB), ARZ, MAHON X DEMIAS and ANZA of BREAD wheat with 2 repetitions while following their cycle of development. The principals components analysis: A.C.P. variety: HD 1220 (HIDHAB) shows that the number of grains per square meter (37.15%) contributed the most to the formation of the axis F1 while the number of spike per square meter (51.90%) as the most axis F2. That of the ARZ variety shows that the number of grains per square meter (43.41%) contributed the most to the formation of the F1 axis otherwise the number of grains per spike shape as the axis F2 (55.86%). Measuring the pH of our soil is estimated at 7.47. It is slightly alkaline and this is a heavy and highly calcareous is soil. It is also a mineral soil because the percentage of the organic material is 1.81.

Interaction of genes determining the spike shape of wheat and those located in the 5AL chromosome

The spike parameters of hexaploid wheats from the genus Triticum L. are determined by the major genes and play an important role in systematics. Having a strong pleiotropic effect, they also have practical importance. In this work, the interaction of the dominant genes QS and Q with the dominant gene C17648 determining the shape of the spike was investigated. The gene Q is located in the 5AL chromosome and determines the formation of the elongated lax spike in the T. spelta L. species. The homoeoallelic gene QS introgressed into bread wheat from Aegilops speltoides Tausch. and causing the formation of the speltoid spike is also located in the 5AL chromosome of the 84/98w line. The C17648 gene is analogous in the phenotypic manifestation to the C gene determining the formation of a dense short spike on a short culm as in T. compactum Host. It was mapped to the 5AL chromosome in the bread wheat line ANBW-5A and the donor of the gene was a mutant of durum wheat. In the present work, the spike length, spikelet number, index of spike density, and stem length were studied in F1, F2, and F3 of three different hybrid populations. It was shown for the first time that the C17648 gene is epistatic to the dominant genes QS and Q. It was manifested in the formation of compact spikes in F1 hybrids and in the numerical predominance of plants with a compact spike in F2. At the same time, the gene C17648 showed a smaller effect on stem length and did not affect the number of spikelets. Using the genetic analysis, it was found that genes QS and Q are independently inherited from gene C17648, although a strong link was observed between the QS or Q and b1 gene.

Interpretation of amperometric kinetics of content release during contacts of vesicles with a lipid membrane.

The exocytotic pathway of secretion of molecules from cells includes transport by vesicles, tether-mediated fusion of vesicles with the plasma membrane accompanied by pore formation, and diffusion-mediated release of their contents via a pore to the outside. In related basic biophysical studies, vesicle-content release is tracked by measuring corresponding amperometric spikes. Although experiments of this type have a long history, the understanding of the underlying physics is still elusive. The present study elucidates the likely contribution of line energy, membrane tension and bending, osmotic pressure, hydration forces, and tethers to the potential energy for fusion-related pore formation and evolution. The overdamped Langevin equation is used to describe the pore dynamics, which are in turn employed to calculate the kinetics of content release and to interpret the shape of amperometric spikes.

Reactivation of seizure-related changes to interictal spike shape and synchrony during postseizure sleep in patients.

Local field potentials (LFPs) arise from synchronous activation of millions of neurons, producing seemingly consistent waveform shapes and relative synchrony across electrodes. Interictal spikes (IISs) are LFPs associated with epilepsy that are commonly used to guide surgical resection. Recently, changes in neuronal firing patterns observed in the minutes preceding seizure onset were found to be reactivated during postseizure sleep, a process called seizure-related consolidation (SRC), due to similarities with learning-related consolidation. Because IISs arise from summed neural activity, we hypothesized that changes in IIS shape and relative synchrony would be observed in the minutes preceding seizure onset and would be reactivated preferentially during postseizure slow-wave sleep (SWS). Scalp and intracranial recordings were obtained continuously across multiple days from clinical macroelectrodes implanted in patients undergoing treatment for intractable epilepsy. Data from scalp electrodes were used to stage sleep. Data from intracranial electrodes were used to detect IISs using a previously established algorithm. Partial correlations were computed for sleep and wake periods before and after seizures as a function of correlations observed in the minutes preceding seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT) scans were co-registered with electroencephalography (EEG) to determine the location of the seizure-onset zone (SOZ). Changes in IIS shape and relative synchrony were observed on a subset of macroelectrodes minutes before seizure onset, and these changes were reactivated preferentially during postseizure SWS. Changes in synchrony were greatest for pairs of electrodes where at least one electrode was located in the SOZ. These data suggest preseizure changes in neural activity and their subsequent reactivation occur across a broad spatiotemporal scale: from single neurons to LFPs, both within and outside the SOZ. The preferential reactivation of seizure-related changes in IISs during postseizure SWS adds to a growing body of literature suggesting that pathologic neural processes may utilize physiologic mechanisms of synaptic plasticity.

Spiking Neural Networks Based on OxRAM Synapses for Real-Time Unsupervised Spike Sorting.

In this paper, we present an alternative approach to perform spike sorting of complex brain signals based on spiking neural networks (SNN). The proposed architecture is suitable for hardware implementation by using resistive random access memory (RRAM) technology for the implementation of synapses whose low latency (<1μs) enables real-time spike sorting. This offers promising advantages to conventional spike sorting techniques for brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and neural prosthesis applications. Moreover, the ultra-low power consumption of the RRAM synapses of the spiking neural network (nW range) may enable the design of autonomous implantable devices for rehabilitation purposes. We demonstrate an original methodology to use Oxide based RRAM (OxRAM) as easy to program and low energy (<75 pJ) synapses. Synaptic weights are modulated through the application of an online learning strategy inspired by biological Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity. Real spiking data have been recorded both intra- and extracellularly from an in-vitro preparation of the Crayfish sensory-motor system and used for validation of the proposed OxRAM based SNN. This artificial SNN is able to identify, learn, recognize and distinguish between different spike shapes in the input signal with a recognition rate about 90% without any supervision.

Conditional Knockout of Cav2.1 Disrupts the Accuracy of Spatial Recognition of CA1 Place Cells and Spatial/Contextual Recognition Behavior.

Hippocampal pyramidal neurons play an essential role in processing spatial information as implicated with its place-dependent firing. Although, previous slice physiology studies have reported that voltage gated calcium channels contribute to spike shapes and corresponding firing rate in the hippocampus, the roles of P/Q type calcium channels (Cav2.1) underlying neural activity in behaving mice have not been well-investigated. To determine physiological and behavioral roles of Cav2.1, we conducted place cell recordings in CA1 and hippocampus dependent learning/memory tasks using mice lacking Cav2.1 in hippocampal pyramidal neurons under CamK2α-Cre recombinase expression. Results suggested that impairments shown in behavioral tasks requiring spatial and contextual information processing were statistically significant while general neurological behaviors did not differ between groups. In particular, deficits were more profound in recognition than in acquisition. Furthermore, place cell recordings also revealed that the ability to recollect spatial representation on re-visit in the conditional knockout was also altered in terms of the cue recognition while the capability of a place cell to encode a place was intact compared to the control group. Interestingly, CA1 pyramidal neurons of conditional knockout mice showed reduced burst frequency as well as abnormal temporal patterns of burst spiking. These results provide potential evidence that Cav2.1 in hippocampal pyramidal cells modulates temporal integration of bursts, which, in turn, might influence the recognition of place field and consequently disrupt spatial recognition ability.

Clustering Analysis for Sorting ATP-Induced Nociceptive Firing in rat Meninges

We previously reported the pronociceptive effect of extracellular ATP on meningeal branches of the trigeminal nerve. Based on this, we proposed ATP-driven purinergic mechanisms as important contributors to migraine pain. However, the neurochemical profile of the single nociceptive fibers composing the trigeminal nerve remained unsolved. Here, we present a clustering approach to separate and characterize ATP-induced nociceptive spikes obtained from the trigeminal nerve using a suction electrode. By combining a number of procedures to ensure adequate separation of spikes into clearly distinguishable clusters, we were able to reconstruct single fiber activity, which was characterized by a uniformity of spike shapes and specific signatures of the autocorrelation function. This allows us to reveal, at single fiber level, the sustained time-course of responses to ATP and their respective firing frequencies. These firing frequencies predicted the temporal summation of pain signals in the brainstem and spinal cord. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the peripheral purinergic mechanisms of trigeminal pain, including migraine pain, and suggest a novel reliable approach for testing other pronociceptive agents potently implicated in migraine.