FBS Colloquia No.235Nanobiophotonics Group

The relationship between neuronal electrical activity and extracellular energy sources

Neuronal network, which is formed by many neurons with synaptic connections performs the brain functions i.e. memory or learning. In the neuronal network, spontaneous activity which is not driven by any inputs or stimuli is observed and analysis of dynamics of spontaneous activity is required to investigate brain functions. However, neuronal networks of animal models or slice samples are too complex to analyze. So, dissociated cultured network has been studied as a simple model of neuronal network. In the brain, much amount of energy is required to generate and maintain the spontaneous activity, but the relationship between local energy amount and neuronal activity has not been discussed. In this presentation, we will introduce the extracellular glucose concentration dependency of neuronal activity by using extracellular potential recording. Further, we will introduce the distribution change of mitochondrial protein with maturation the neuronal network visualized by microscopic Raman imaging.