A miniature microdrive for recording auditory evoked potentials from awake anurans

Abstract

Electrical activity recording from the brains of awake animals is a corner stone in the study of the neurophysiological basis of behavior. To meet this need, a microelectrode driver suitable for the animal of interest has to be developed. In the present study a miniature microdrive was developed specifically for the leopard toad, Bufo regularis, however, it can be used for other small animals. The microdrive was designed to meet the following requirements: small size, light weight, simple and easy way of attaching and removing, advancing and withdrawing of microelectrode in the animal brain without rotation, can be reused and made from inexpensive materials. To assess the performance of the developed microdrive, we recorded auditory evoked potentials from different auditory centers in the toad's brain. The potentials were obtained from mesencephalic, diencephalic and telencephalic auditory sensitive areas in response to simple and complex acoustic stimuli. The synthetic acoustical tones introduced to the toad were carrying the dominant frequencies of their mating calls.