Evolution of functional connectivity in neuronal cultures

Abstract

We study the temporal evolution of three{dimensional rat cortical neurons in vitro. Data is obtained through calcium uorescence imaging, allowing us to record the spontaneous activity of the culture. We monitor these cultures during their second and third week after formation and use graph theory to characterize some relevant network parameters, allowing us to pinpoint the functionality and complexity of such cultures. We show that cultures are more synchronous as they mature, with a higher global effciency and connectivity. We also discuss about the reliability of current existing methods to estimate the richness of the network in terms of activity and the impact of spatial constraints on the functional traits of the cultures, particularly at early days.