DREPHOS

The performance of our nervous system such as sensory perception, memory, or the control of organs can be studied and understood if a sufficiently large number of different cell types are identified in the circuits involved and modulated in a cell type-specific manner. This requires measurement systems and methods that can measure with high signal quality and modulate cells via electrical or optical methods. DREPHOS brings together innovative electrical and optogenetic technologies to solve these challenges for three-dimensional cellular in vitro model systems.

In subproject A of DREPHOS, active microelectrode arrays (CMOS MEAs) are equipped with needle-shaped electrodes. This will enable the detection of cells far from the surface in three-dimensional tissue preparations for the first time. Processes compatible with CMOS technology are being developed to fabricate the three-dimensional electrode arrays.
On the methodological side, correlative electrical and optical methods for functional mapping of cell types and of cellular circuits will be developed. CMOS MEA based high resolution detection method (electrical imaging) will be combined with optical microscopy and fluorescence labeling techniques. These methods will be used to (i) enable cell type-specific functional anatomy, (ii) visualize signal processing between interconnected cells optically and electrically, and (iii) specifically modulate the activity of identified neuronal circuits. In DREPHOS, scientific questions are investigated in the retina and hippocampus of transgenic mouse lines.At the NMI, the following WGs are involved in DREPHOS: Neurophysics, Microsystems Engineering, Molecular Neurobiology).