DATE: November 16, 2017
TIME: 10:00am PST, 1:00pm EST,

Neuronal networks play a fundamental role in the brain, with many diseases linked to disruptions in network activity. Cell-based neuronal assays need to recapitulate these critical aspects of biology in vitro to be applicable in drug discovery, disease-in-a-dish modeling, and safety pharmacology and toxicology. Importantly, in vitro neural preparations, such as cultured rodent primary neurons, form synaptic connections that give rise to spontaneous electrophysiological activity and allow functional evaluation of network activity. Using in vitro Maestro MEA technology, scientists can now quickly and easily measure key electrical network behaviors, such as excitability and connectivity, from neurons cultured over electrodes in multiwell MEA plates.

A critical component of any in vitro neural assay is the culture media system, which must support long-term viability and electrophysiological activity to encourage functional synaptic connections and network formation. B-27™ Supplement and Neurobasal™ Medium have been widely used throughout neural assay development in the last 20+ years, but recent approaches to model specific neural phenotypes, such as seizures-in-a-dish, highlights a need for neural media systems to develop robust phenotypes of synchronized network activity.

This webinar will provide an in-depth review of techniques for performing MEA assays to assess neural network electrophysiology. In so doing, we will characterize the neural network maturation produced with the new B-27™ Plus Neuronal Culture System, as compared to other media types. The B-27™ Plus System excelled in three key areas for in vitro neural assays: 1) supported long-term culture with a high degree of electrode coverage, 2) encouraged substantial spontaneous electrophysiological activity, and 3) facilitated network maturation as evidenced by synchronous activity.