Microgravity can cause body fluids to accumulate in the brain, resulting in brain damage. There are few studies that focus on the detection of electrophysiological signals in simulated microgravity rats, and the precise mechanisms are unknown. In this study, a new device was established to investigate the influence of microgravity on hippocampal neurons. A 16-channel microelectrode array was fabricated for in vivo multichannel electrophysiological recordings. In these experiments, microelectrode array was inserted into normal, 28-day tail suspension model, and 3-day recovered after modulation rats to record electrophysiological signals in the CA1 and DG regions of the hippocampus. Through analysis of electrophysiological signals, we obtained the following results: (1) spike signals of model rats sporadically showed brief periods of suspension involving most of the recorded neurons, which corresponded to slow and smooth peaks in local field potentials. For model rats, the firing rate was reduced, and the power in the frequency spectrum was concentrated in the slow frequency band (0-1 Hz); (2) after the detected hippocampal cells divided into pyramidal cells and interneurons, the spike duration of pyramidal cells showed remarkable latency, and their average firing rates showed a more significant decrease compared to interneurons. These results demonstrate that the hippocampal neurons were impaired after modulation in the cellular dimension, and pyramidal cells were more susceptible than interneurons.
Keywords: hippocampus; implantable MEA; neurophysiological; simulated microgravity.
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