2-step protocol for investigating neural responses to motion.

Electrophysiology toolkit that dynamically generates stimuli based on real-time neural response analysis.

Overview

I designed and built an adaptive experimental protocol for electrophysiology recordings of motion-responsive cell types. This two-step system runs a coarse mapping protocol (P1), automatically analyses the neural responses, then generates a tailored high-resolution follow-up protocol (P2) centered on the neuron’s identified receptive field. This two-stage adaptive approach improves data quality by allowing for time to be better allocated to record responses only to stimuli in the region of visual space we know the cell cares about.

This protocol was based on a similiar protocol developed by Eyal Gruntman in the Reiser Lab and was designed for experiments carried out by Jin Yong Park at HHMI Janelia for a collaboration with S Lawrence (Larry) Zipurski and Piero Sanfilippo at UCLA.

Technical Highlights

• Adaptive pipeline design: automated analysis of protocol 1 results feeds directly into protocol 2 generation
• Real-time signal processing of electrophysiology data
• MATLAB GUI for parameter input and experiment control
• Automated protocol generation from prior experimental results — no manual intervention required between stages

Technologies

MATLAB Python Signal Processing Experimental Design Real-time Analysis

Links

• Source Code
• Documentation