Behavioral training of marmosets and electrophysiological recording from the cerebellum

Abstract

The common marmoset (Callithrix Jacchus) is a promising new model for study of neurophysiological basis of behavior in primates. Like other primates, it relies on saccadic eye movements to monitor and explore its environment. Previous reports have demonstrated some success in training marmosets to produce goal-directed actions in the laboratory. However, the number of trials per session has been relatively small, thus limiting the utility of marmosets as a model for behavioral and neurophysiological studies. Here, we report the results of a series of new behavioral training and neurophysiological protocols aimed at increasing the number of trials per session while recording from the cerebellum. To improve the training efficacy, we designed a precisely calibrated food regulation regime that motivated the subjects to perform saccade tasks, resulting in about a thousand reward-driven trials on a daily basis. We then developed a multi-channel recording system that used imaging to target a desired region of the cerebellum, allowing for simultaneous isolation of multiple Purkinje cells in the vermis. In this report, we describe (1) the design and surgical implantation of a CT guided, subject specific head-post, (2) the design of a CT and MRI guided alignment tool for trajectory guidance of electrodes mounted on an absolute encoder microdrive, (3) development of a protocol for behavioral training of subjects, and (4) simultaneous recordings from pairs of Purkinje cells during a saccade task.\n\nNew and NoteworthyMarmosets present the opportunity to investigate genetically based neurological disease in primates; in particular, diseases that affect social behaviors, vocal communication, and eye movements. All of these behaviors depend on the integrity of the cerebellum. Here, we present training methods that better motivate the subjects, allowing for improved performance, and also present electrophysiological techniques that precisely target the subjects cerebellum, allowing for simultaneous isolation of multiple Purkinje cells.\n\nIn our parks, are there any trees more elegant and luxurious than the Purkinje cell from the cerebellum? Santiago Ramon y Cajal