Picosecond pulse electrical fields (psPEFs), due to their high temporal‐resolution accuracy and localization, were viewed as a potential targeted and noninvasive method for neuromodulation. However, few studies have reported psPEFs regulating neuronal activity in vivo. In this paper, a preliminary study on psPEFs regulating action potentials in hippocampus CA1 of rats in vivo was carried out. By analyzing the neuronal spike firing rate in hippocampus CA1 pre‐ and post‐psPEF stimulation, effects of frequency, duration, and dosimetry of psPEFs were studied. The psPEF used in this study had a pulse width of 500 ps and a field strength of 1 kV/mm, established by 1 kV picosecond voltage pulses. Results showed that the psPEF suppressed spike firing in hippocampal CA1 neurons. The suppression effect was found to be significant except for 10 s, 10 Hz. For short‐duration stimulation (10 s), the inhibition rate of spike firing increased with frequency. At longer stimulation durations (1 and 2 min), the inhibition rate increased and decreased alternately as the frequency increased. Despite this, the inhibition rate at high frequencies (5 and 10 kHz) was significantly larger than that at 10 and 100 Hz. A cumulative effect of psPEF on spike firing inhibition was found at low frequencies (10 and 100 Hz), which was saturated when frequency reached 500 Hz or higher. This paper conducts a study on psPEF regulating spike firing in hippocampal CA1 in vivo for the first time and guides subsequent study on psPEF achieving noninvasive neuromodulation. © 2020 Bioelectromagnetics Society

中文翻译：

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皮秒脉冲电场抑制大鼠体内海马 CA1 尖峰放电


皮秒脉冲电场（psPEF）由于其高时间分辨率精度和定位，被视为一种潜在的靶向和非侵入性神经调节方法。然而，很少有研究报道 psPEF 在体内调节神经元活动。本文对psPEFs在体内调节大鼠海马CA1区动作电位进行了初步研究。通过分析 psPEF 刺激前后海马 CA1 神经元尖峰放电率，研究了 psPEF 的频率、持续时间和剂量测定的影响。本研究中使用的 psPEF 的脉冲宽度为 500 ps，场强为 1 kV/mm，由 1 kV 皮秒电压脉冲建立。结果表明，psPEF 抑制海马 CA1 神经元的尖峰放电。发现除了 10 s、10 Hz 之外，抑制效果都很显着。对于短时刺激（10秒），尖峰放电的抑制率随着频率的增加而增加。在刺激持续时间较长（1分钟和2分钟）时，抑制率随着频率的增加而交替增加和减少。尽管如此，高频（5 和 10 kHz）下的抑制率明显大于 10 和 100 Hz 下的抑制率。在低频（10 和 100 Hz）下发现 psPEF 对尖峰放电抑制的累积效应，当频率达到 500 Hz 或更高时达到饱和。该论文首次在体内开展了psPEF调节海马CA1尖峰放电的研究，并指导了后续psPEF实现无创神经调节的研究。 © 2020 生物电磁学会