Brain-Silicon Interface for High-Resolution in vitro Neural Recording

A 256-channel integrated interface for simultaneous recording of distributed neural activity from acute brain slices is presented. An array of 16 x 16 Au recording electrodes are fabricated directly on the die. Each channel implements differential voltage acquisition, amplification and band-pass filtering. In-channel analog memory stores an electronic image of neural activity. A 3 mm x 4.5 mm integrated prototype fabricated in a 0.35-mu m CMOS technology is experimentally validated in single-channel extracellular in vitro recordings from the hippocampus of mice and in multichannel simultaneous recordings in a controlled environment.