Evolutionary dynamics of in vitro cultures of neurons in Multi Electrode Array - MEA

This work studies the evolution of neuronal network of in vitro cultures of neurons, in Multi-Electrode Array (MEA), using a multivariate autoregressive method and a partial directed coherence technique to obtain the causal relations between electrodes. The electrophysiological data of the hippocampal neurons of 18 days old Wistar rat embryos, were registered at Genoa University, with 3 days interval, from 25 DIV (Days In Vitro) to 46 DIV. The analysis of the obtained connectivity results, using the above mentioned statistical methods, was performed evaluating complex network properties, considering the MEA electrodes as nodes. The conclusion is that the described method is adequate to analyze the evolution of the cultured neuronal network.