Effect of Low-Frequency Stimulation on Spontaneous Firing in Cultured Neuronal Networks

Cultured neuronal networks from dissociated rat cortical tissue show spontaneous firing activity from about the end of the first week in vitro. Multielectrode recordings have shown slow developmental changes in the firing activity at the individual electrode sites. Here we report that a short period of low-frequency electrical stimulation is able to induce lasting changes in the spontaneous firing activity, significantly larger than developmental changes over similar periods of time.