Human acute microelectrode array recordings with broad cortical access, single-unit resolution and parallel behavioral monitoring

Abstract

Human single-unit studies currently rely on neurosurgical procedures that provide only limited brain coverage and on recording devices that do not integrate easily into established surgical routines. Here, we report reliable and robust acute multi-channel recordings with broad cortical access using planar microelectrode arrays (MEA) implanted intracortically in awake brain surgery. We provide a comprehensive characterization of extracellular neuronal activity acquired intraoperatively in tumor patients with large open craniotomies. MEA implantation was fast, safe and yielded high-quality signals at the microcircuit, local field potential level, and at the cellular, single-unit level. Recording from parietal association cortex, a region previously unexplored in human single-unit studies, we demonstrate applications on these complementary spatial scales and describe travelling waves of oscillatory activity as well as single-neuron and neuronal population responses during numerical cognition including operations with uniquely human number symbols. Intraoperative MEA recordings are practicable and can be scaled up to explore cellular and microcircuit mechanisms of a wide range of human brain functions.