Thesis advisor: Michael J. Naughton / Thesis advisor: Michael J. Burns / Recent progress in the study of the brain has been greatly facilitated by the development of new measurement tools capable of minimally-invasive, robust coupling to neuronal assemblies. Two prominent examples are the microelectrode array, which enables electrical signals from large numbers of neurons to be detected and spatiotemporally correlated, and optogenetics, which enables the electrical activity of cells to be controlled with light. In the former case, high spatial density is desirable but, as electrode arrays evolve toward higher density and thus smaller pitch, electrical crosstalk increases. In the latter, finer control over light input is desirable, to enable improved studies of neuroelectronic pathways emanating from specific cell stimulation. Herein, we introduce a coaxial electrode architecture that is uniquely suited to address these issues, as it can simultaneously be utilized as an optical waveguide and a shielded electrode in dense arrays. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BOSTON/oai:dlib.bc.edu:bc-ir_108037 |
Date | January 2017 |
Creators | Naughton, Jeffrey R. |
Publisher | Boston College |
Source Sets | Boston College |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Text, thesis |
Format | electronic, application/pdf |
Rights | Copyright is held by the author, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise noted. |
Page generated in 0.0031 seconds