Burst analysis of chemically stimulated spinal cord neuronal networks cultured on microelectrode arrays

Planar microelectrode arrays allow the recording of the electrophysiological activity of cultured neurons for long time periods and from different sites of the network. In the developing Central Nervous System, several neural networks are spontaneously active and show a typical high frequency activity pattern called burst. Such behavior seems to play an important role in subsequent maturation. Here we analyze how the bursting electrophysiological activity of cultured spinal cord neurons (14-18 DIV) from the chick embryo is affected by cyclothiazide (CTZ) which acts on AMPA receptors. Changes in the patterns of electrophysiological activity are described in detail.