biology

Microstimulation

Microstimulation is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Microstimulation rather than just read about it. In short: Microstimulation is a technique that stimulates a small population of neurons by passing a small electrical current through a nearby microelectrode. Applications Microstimulation is used in neuroanatomical research to identify the functional significance of a group of neurons.

Key takeaways

Microstimulation belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Microstimulation to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Microstimulation from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Microstimulation is a technique that stimulates a small population of neurons by passing a small electrical current through a nearby microelectrode.

Applications Microstimulation is used in neuroanatomical research to identify the functional significance of a group of neurons. For example, Vidal-Gonzalez et al. (2006) applied microstimulation to the rat prelimbic and infralimbic subregions of the medial prefrontal cortex while testing the subjects in a fear-inducing low-footshock condition for various behavioral indicators of fear (such as freezing). This test allowed them to compare the relative fear behavior of rats under microstimulation in either subregion to normal rats in the same condition. The researchers concluded that the prelimbic subregion excites fear behavior while the infralimbic subregion inhibits fear behavior. In this instance, the correlation between stimulation and behavior helped identify the function of these two subregions in the process of fear. Microstimulation is being explored as a method to deliver sensory percepts to circumvent damaged sensory receptors or pathways. For example, stimulation of primary visual cortex create phosphenes (flashes of light) which can be used to restore some vision for a blind individual. Other applications include bladder prostheses; cochlear and brain-stem auditory prostheses and retinal and thalamic visual prostheses.

References

Further reading Salzman, C. Daniel; Britten, Kenneth H.; Newsome, William T. (July 1990). "Cortical microstimulation influences perceptual judgements of motion direction". Nature. 346 (6280): 174–177. Bibcode:1990Natur.346..174S. doi:10.1038/346174a0. PMID 2366872. S2CID 4255246. McIntyre, Cameron C.; Grill, Warren M. (1 March 2000). "Selective Microstimulation of Central Nervous System Neurons". Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 28 (3): 219–233. doi:10.1114/1.262. PMID 10784087. S2CID 26491663. Graziano, Michael S. A; Taylor, Charlotte S. R; Moore, Tirin (30 May 2002). "Complex Movements Evoked by Microstimulation of Precentral Cortex". Neuron. 34 (5): 841–851. doi:10.1016/S0896-6273(02)00698-0. PMID 12062029. S2CID 3069873. Moore, Tirin; Armstrong, Katherine M. (January 2003). "Selective gating of visual signals by microstimulation of frontal cortex". Nature. 421 (6921): 370–373. Bibcode:2003Natur.421..370M. doi:10.1038/nature01341. PMID 12540901. S2CID 4405385. Tehovnik, E. J.; Tolias, A. S.; Sultan, F.; Slocum, W. M.; Logothetis, N. K. (1 August 2006). "Direct and Indirect Activation of Cortical Neurons by Electrical Microstimulation". Journal of Neurophysiology. 96 (2): 512–521. doi:10.1152/jn.00126.2006. PMID 16835359. Logothetis, Nikos K.; Augath, Mark; Murayama, Yusuke; Rauch, Alexander; Sultan, Fahad; Goense, Jozien; Oeltermann, Axel; Merkle, Hellmut (October 2010). "The effects of electrical microstimulation on cortical signal propagation" (PDF). Nature Neuroscience. 13 (10): 1283–1291. doi:10.1038/nn.2631. PMID 20818384. S2CID 16280316. Flesher, Sharlene N.; Collinger, Jennifer L.; Foldes, Stephen T.; Weiss, Jeffrey M.; Downey, John E.; Tyler-Kabara, Elizabeth C.; Bensmaia, Sliman J.; Schwartz, Andrew B.; Boninger, Michael L.; Gaunt, Robert A. (19 October 2016). "Intracortical microstimulation of human somatosensory cortex". Science Translational Medicine. 8 (361): 361ra141. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf8083. PMID 27738096. S2CID 4619069.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Microstimulation

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Microstimulation claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Microstimulation before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Microstimulation ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Microstimulation

In research: Microstimulation appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Microstimulation in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Microstimulation is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Neurology, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Microstimulation outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Microstimulation in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Microstimulation means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Microstimulation out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Microstimulation in simple terms?

Microstimulation is a technique that stimulates a small population of neurons by passing a small electrical current through a nearby microelectrode. Applications Microstimulation is used in neuroanatomical research to identify the functional significance of a group of neurons.

Why does Microstimulation matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Microstimulation?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Microstimulation.