in vitro reconstruction of the NE/5-HT neuromodulation system for studying vagus nerve stimulation

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 23240065
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Biomedical engineering/Biological material science
• Research Institution: The University of Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: JIMBO Yasuhiko 東京大学, 工学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (20372401)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): YUNOKUCHI Kazutomo 鹿児島大学, 大学院理工学研究科, 教授 (10094187) ; SAKUMA Ichiro 東京大学, 大学院工学系研究科, 教授 (50178597) ; KAWAI Kensuke 東京医療保健大学, 医療保健学部, 教授 (70260924)
• Project Period (FY): 2011-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: 脳神経疾患 / 細胞・組織 / シグナル伝達 / ナノバイオ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is one of the novel methods for treatment-resistant epilepsy. The mechanisms of VNS have not been fully understood. In this work, we used in vitro reconstruction systems. Brainstem neurons (locus ceruleus; LC, dorsal raphe nucleus; DR) were taken from newborn Wistar rats and cultured with hippocampal neurons on microelectrode-array (MEA) substrates. It is well-known that hippocampal neurons generate synchronized bursts in vitro. The spatio-temporal patterns of the activity were modified by application of norepinephrine, which was the principal neurotransmitter of LC neurons. Asynchronous spontaneous activity was observed in both LC and DR neuronal cultures. The synchronized activity of hippocampal neurons were slightly reduced in co-cultures with brainstem neurons. The next step is application of electrical stimulation to brainstem neurons to find most efficient VNS conditions.

Free Research Field

神経工学