Preliminary Analysis on Electrophysiological Signals of Canine Cerebral Cortex and Corticospinal Tracts

Abstract

Our aim was to provide preliminary neuroelectrophysiological information using the Cerebus system as a tool for researching spinal cord injury and rehabilitation in a canine model. Single microelectrodes were inserted into the cerebral cortex and corticospinal tract and signals were recorded and analyzed with the Cerebus system. The results showed that this system can record continuous and spontaneous electrophysiological signals from the motor cortex and spinal cord when using platinum-glass microelectrodes. The characteristic waveform of the signals was revealed by neuroexplorer and off-line signal analysis software. Thus the Cerebus system will prove to be a useful tool in designing computer prosthetic devises for rehabilitation after spinal cord injury. key words -spinal cord; corticospinal tract; Cerebus TM 128-channel Data Acquisition system; nerve electrophysiological signal INTRODUCTION