Large-scale neural ensemble recording in the brains of freely behaving mice.

With the availability of sophisticated genetic techniques, the mouse is a valuable mammalian model to study the molecular and cellular basis of cognitive behaviors. However, the small size of mice makes it difficult for a systematic investigation of activity patterns of neural networks in vivo. Here we report the development and construction of a high-density ensemble recording array with up to 128-recording channels that can be formatted as single electrodes, stereotrodes, or tetrodes. This high-density recording array is capable of recording from hundreds of individual neurons simultaneously in the hippocampus of the freely behaving mice. This large-scale in vivo ensemble recording techniques, once coupled with mouse genetics, should be valuable to the study of complex relationship between the genes, neural network, and cognitive behaviors.