Real-time simultaneous recording of electrophysiological activities and dopamine overflow in the deep brain nuclei of a non-human primate with Parkinson’s disease using nano-based microelectrode arrays

Parkinson’s disease(PD)is characterized by a progressive degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons.The precise mechanisms are still unknown.Since the neuronal communications are inherently electrical and chemical in nature,dual-mode detection of PD-related neuroelectrical and neurochemical information is essential for PD research.Subthalamic nucleus(STN)highfrequency stimulation(HFS)can improve most symptoms of PD patients and decrease the dosage of antiparkinsonian drugs.The mechanism of STN-HFS for PD still remains elusive.In this study,a silicon-based dual-mode microelectrode array(MEA)probe was designed and fabricated,and systematic dual-mode detection methods were established.The recording sites were modified using Pt nanoparticles and Nafion to improve the signal-to-noise(SNR)ratio.To evaluate its applicability to PD research,in vivo electrophysiological and electrochemical detection was performed in normal and hemiparkinsonian models,respectively.Through comparison of the dual-mode signals,we demonstrated the following in a PD monkey:(1)the maximum dopamine concentration in the striatum decreased by 90%;(2)the spike firing frequency increased significantly,especially in the region of the cortex;(3)the spectrogram analysis showed that much power existed in the 0–10 Hz frequency band;and(4)following repeated subthalamic nucleus high-frequency stimulation trials,the level of DA in the striatum increased by 16.5μM,which led to a better elucidation of the mechanism of HFS.The dual-mode MEA probe was demonstrated to be an effective tool for the study of neurological disorders.