Magnetoneurography system for imaging neural activity in the rat spinal cord

• Published in: Transactions of Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering Vol. Annual59; no. Proc; pp. 852 - 854
• Main Authors: Miyaoka, Atsushi, Kawabata, Shigenori, Hashimoto, Jun, Adachi, Yoshiaki, Yaginuma, Hidekazu, Deguchi, Hiroshi, Naijo, Yoshihisa, Watanabe, Taishi, Ishida, Koki, Hosoya, Toshihiko, Okawa, Atsushi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering 2021
• ISSN: 1347-443X; 1881-4379
• DOI: 10.11239/jsmbe.Annual59.852

Introduction: We have previously reported on magnetoneurograpy (MNG) imaging of neural activity in the spinal cord of medium-sized animals. In this study, we extended the method to rats, one of the most widely used laboratory animals.Methods: We anesthetized 3 healthy rats and placed them in the prone position under SQUID sensors. We applied electrical stimuli alternately to the bilateral sciatic nerves and recorded the magnetic fields evoked in response to the stimulation. Action currents were computationally reconstructed using the spatial filter method and overlaid on an X-ray image.Result: The method successfully reconstructed spinal cord action currents in 5 of 6 cases. The reconstructed action currents traveled rostrally along the spinal canal, as expected.Conclusion: MNG was successful in imaging neural activity in the rat spinal cord. The method provides a noninvasive assay system for drug evaluation that involves measurement of spinal cord neuronal activity.