Designing and Manipulating Interconnectivity between Cortical and Striatal 3D Cultures

Abstract

Abstract— Spatiotemporal dynamics of brain are defined by the complex connectivity among different brain regions in three-dimensional environment. Here, we report a co-culturing platform where interconnection between 3D cultures from cortical and striatal dissociated cells can be conveniently tailored and manipulated. These 3D co-cultures were created in Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) mini-wells and soft-lithography was used to create micro-channels between them. We observed synchronous long burst activities in these cultures. The interconnection between cortical and striatal components of the co-culture were then severed physically to assess the effect of inter-connectivity. This platform can assist our understanding of brain plasticity, development and neural pathways.