[Hplusroadmap] Implanting electrodes in mice

[Bryan Bishop]

On Monday 11 February 2008, ameluti at gmail.com wrote:
> Hey, my first post here;

Hi, Z. Eugen has given you good advice. A few notes from my end:

> Anyway, I've been fiddling with some electronics and stimulating
> electrodes for a while and I think I'm going to have a basic device
> finished soon. What I plan to do is to implant it into a mouse and
> see if I can stimulate the nucleus accumbens to make it feel pleasure
> at the push of a button.

Let's start with something more basic, like electrodes stimulating the 
growth of a cell culture. There is lots of documentation on cell 
culturing protocols out there on the internet. You can even make 
neuronal cultures to play with. 

> Now, the thing is that I'm going to perform this on a *living mouse,

Not a good first project. Start with the cell cultures. Move on up to an 
exploratory anatomy class, maybe shadow a surgeon at the university. 
And if you *must* do living experiments, the very least you can do is 
have an encyclopedic knowledge on the subject before you even touch a 
creature.

> *and since I've never dissected a breathing organism before, I'd like

Get to that point first. Then focus on task-oriented surgery.

> to hear some suggestions on how to proceed with the surgery, as it

Very, very carefully. I wouldn't recommend it, not at this point.

> would be awfully embarrassing if I realized halfway through the
> operation that I forgot to obtain some necessary tool.

You should be able to imagine the entire procedure from start to end on 
your own -- this is what the literature, videos and shadowing is for.

> I intend to make an incision at the skin on the head, then drill a

Veins. Self-treppeners choke themselves and then use markers for cues.

> small hole in the skull. Afterwards I'll insert the electrode inside

Structural damage?

> the brain, turn on the current and see if the mouse reacts to it in
> any way. Since the area I seek is quite small I expect that I'll need

You will go through a lot of dead mice that way, I think.

> to poke around the brain for a bit before I find the necessary spot.
> After that I'll need to secure the electrode there (dental cement?).

So you wouldn't close the skull, or what?

> Is there anything here that I'm missing out? Would I need something
> other than a drill and a scalpel?

Yes, you're missing a whole host of tools, like needles, thread, 
antibacterials, cleaning supplies, possibly monitoring equipment, 
anesthetics, etc. etc.

> How can I secure the mouse to prevent it from moving? What kind of

Drug it.

> anesthetic should I use to prevent the mouse from feeling pain, but
> make sure that it's still responsive to electric stimulation of the
> brain?

Read the literature, there's lots on this.

> Finally, how can I minimize the risk of infection within the mouse,
> both short term and long term? And if there *is *going to be an
> infection, what are the signs and how soon will it appear?

A clean-room can help (sterile environment). Signs of infection are 
wide-ranging and you should also consult the literature here.

- Bryan
________________________________________
Bryan Bishop
http://heybryan.org/