Workshop dates: March 17-20, 2014
Thank you to the more than 100 entrants that participated in Plexon’s first Neuroscience raffle for two FREE registrations to the very popular 2014 Annual Neurophysiology and Behavioral Workshop!

At the close of Neuroscience 2013, Terry Echard, President of Lafayette Instrument Company and an unbiased third party, blindly pulled two winning tickets from the raffle bin. Plexon is thrilled to announce the two winners:

• Annamaria Barczak from the Nathan Kline Institute, and
• Julia Berzhanskaya from George Washington University

Thank you, Terry, and congratulations once again to the winners! We look forward to seeing you in Dallas next year!

NEW PlexBright™ Electrical and Optical Commutator

It is now official – the new PlexBright™ Dual LED + 16 Channel Commutator that many had a chance to see at Neuroscience 2013 has been released! Earlier this year, Plexon launched the first commutator of its kind – the PlexBright Dual LED Commutator – specifically designed to aid in the management of optical patch cables during behavioral research.

Plexon now takes it a step further to offer the PlexBright Dual LED + 16 Channel Commutator – an advanced commutator that enables mixed cable management during simultaneous optogenetic stimulation and neural recording. Like its predecessor, this new commutator has a light-weight, low-torque, passive design that supports optogenetic experiments with animals as small as mice. However, the Dual LED + 16 Channel Commutator uniquely incorporates 21 additional lines supporting up to 16 channels of neural data transmission.

For additional information, check out the website or contact info@plexon.com.

NEW PlexBright Light Measurement Kit

As research utilizing optogenetics continues to grow exponentially, many labs are exploring different products with the same critical endpoint in mind – achieving the highest power output at the tissue interface for a targeted wavelength. Thus, it is paramount that output intensities are verified and confirmed.

To provide certainty regarding optogenetic stimulation at any and all points within the stimulation equipment pathway, Plexon has partnered with ThorLabs to develop a customized Light Measurement Kit designed to accurately measure the output from any PlexBright LED Module, Optical Patch Cable or Fiber Stub Implant. The kit combines a specific power meter, photodetector and custom developed photodetector adaptors to properly connect and position PlexBright components for accurate measurement.

The PlexBright Light Measurement Kit is an essential part of any PlexBright Optogenetic Stimulation System permitting the verification of expected output, as well as enabling dependable troubleshooting. Further, with the removal of the PlexBright Photodetector Adaptors, the photodetector can be used with an unlimited number of third party products. The PlexBright Light Measurement Kit is available as a complete package, or for those already utilizing the ThorLabs S140C integrating sphere photodetector, the PlexBright Photodetector Adaptors can be purchased separately.

Research Spotlight

Let us know about your 2013 publication citing Plexon and our equipment and we will send you a thank you award with a mug and a T-shirt! Send notices, address and T-shirt size to publications@plexon.com.

All articles listed are alphabetical based on first author within two categories: articles published online in electronic-only journals or ahead of print, and articles published in full print.

Recent articles published online in electronic-only journals or ahead of print:

• Bonini, Luca, Monica Maranesi, Alessandro Livi, Stefania Bruni, Leonardo Fogassi, Tobias Holzhammer, Oliver Paul, and Patrick Ruther. “Application of floating silicon-based linear multielectrode arrays for acute recording of single neuron activity in awake behaving monkeys.” Biomedizinische Technik/Biomedical Engineering: 1-9.
• Byers, Kelsey JRP, H. D. Bradshaw, and Jeffrey A. Riffell. “Three floral volatiles contribute to differential pollinator attraction in monkeyflowers (Mimulus).” The Journal of Experimental Biology (2013): jeb-092213.
• Courtin, Julien, Fabrice Chaudun, Robert R. Rozeske, Nikolaos Karalis, Cecilia Gonzalez-Campo, Hélène Wurtz, Azzedine Abdi, Jerome Baufreton, Thomas CM Bienvenu, and Cyril Herry. “Prefrontal parvalbumin interneurons shape neuronal activity to drive fear expression.” Nature (2013).
• Duque, Daniel, Manuel S. Malmierca, and Donald M. Caspary. “Modulation of stimulus‐specific adaptation by GABAA receptor activation or blockade in the medial geniculate body of the anaesthetized rat.” The Journal of Physiology (2013).
• Estrada-Sánchez, Ana María, Scott J. Barton, and George V. Rebec. “Altered Neuronal Dynamics in the Striatum on the Behavior of Huntingtin Interacting Protein 14 (HIP14) Knockout Mice.” Brain Sciences 3, no. 4 (2013): 1588-1596.
• Fitzgerald, Paul J., Nigel Whittle, Shaun M. Flynn, Carolyn Graybeal, Courtney Pinard, Ozge Gunduz-Cinar, Alexxai Kravitz, Nicolas Singewald, and Andrew Holmes. “Prefrontal single-unit firing associated with deficient extinction in mice.” Neurobiology of Learning and Memory (2013).
• Gremel, Christina M., and Rui M. Costa. “Orbitofrontal and striatal circuits dynamically encode the shift between goal-directed and habitual actions.” Nature Communications 4 (2013).
• Hampson, Robert E., Dong Song, Ioan Opris, Lucas M. Santos, Dae C. Shin, Greg A. Gerhardt, Vasilis Z. Marmarelis, Theodore W. Berger, and Sam A. Deadwyler. “Facilitation of memory encoding in primate hippocampus by a neuroprosthesis that promotes task-specific neural firing.” Journal of Neural Engineering 10, no. 6 (2013): 066013.
• Ifft, Peter J., Solaiman Shokur, Zheng Li, Mikhail A. Lebedev, and Miguel AL Nicolelis. “A Brain-Machine Interface Enables Bimanual Arm Movements in Monkeys.” Science Translational Medicine 5, no. 210 (2013): 210ra154-210ra154.
• Lesting, Jörg, Thiemo Daldrup, Venu Narayanan, Christian Himpe, Thomas Seidenbecher, and Hans-Christian Pape. “Directional Theta Coherence in Prefrontal Cortical to Amygdalo-Hippocampal Pathways Signals Fear Extinction.” PLOS ONE 8, no. 10 (2013): e77707.
• Narayanan, Nandakumar S., James F. Cavanagh, Michael J. Frank, and Mark Laubach. “Common medial frontal mechanisms of adaptive control in humans and rodents.” Nature Neuroscience (2013).
• Pozzi, Davide, Gabriele Lignani, Enrico Ferrea, Andrea Contestabile, Francesco Paonessa, Rosalba D’Alessandro, Pellegrino Lippiello et al. “REST/NRSF-mediated intrinsic homeostasis protects neuronal networks from hyperexcitability.” The EMBO Journal (2013).
• Pröpper, Robert, and Klaus Obermayer. “Spyke Viewer: a flexible and extensible platform for electrophysiological data analysis.” Frontiers in Neuroinformatics 7 (2013): 26.
• Skoblenick, Kevin, and Stefan Everling. “N-methyl-D-aspartate Receptor Antagonist Ketamine Impairs Action-monitoring Activity in the Prefrontal Cortex.” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (2013).
• Van Le, Quan, Lynne A. Isbell, Jumpei Matsumoto, Minh Nguyen, Etsuro Hori, Rafael S. Maior, Carlos Tomaz, Anh Hai Tran, Taketoshi Ono, and Hisao Nishijo. “Pulvinar neurons reveal neurobiological evidence of past selection for rapid detection of snakes.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2013): 201312648.
• Yang, Chenhui, Yuan Yuan, and Jennie Si. “Robust spike classification based on frequency domain neural waveform features.” Journal of Neural Engineering 10, no. 6 (2013): 066015.

Recent articles published in full print:

• Cardoso-Cruz, Helder, Mafalda Sousa, Joana B. Vieira, Deolinda Lima, and Vasco Galhardo. “Prefrontal cortex and mediodorsal thalamus reduced connectivity is associated with spatial working memory impairment in rats with inflammatory pain.” Pain 154, no. 11 (2013): 2397-2406.
• Della Santina, Luca, Denise M. Inman, Caroline B. Lupien, Philip J. Horner, and Rachel OL Wong. “Differential Progression of Structural and Functional Alterations in Distinct Retinal Ganglion Cell Types in a Mouse Model of Glaucoma.” The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 44 (2013): 17444-17457.
• Genud-Gabai, Rotem, Oded Klavir, and Rony Paz. “Safety Signals in the Primate Amygdala.” The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 46 (2013): 17986-17994.
• Hosokawa, Takayuki, Steven W. Kennerley, Jennifer Sloan, and Jonathan D. Wallis. “Single-Neuron Mechanisms Underlying Cost-Benefit Analysis in Frontal Cortex.” The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 44 (2013): 17385-17397.
• Ince, Robin AA, Stefano Panzeri, and Christoph Kayser. “Neural Codes Formed by Small and Temporally Precise Populations in Auditory Cortex.” The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 46 (2013): 18277-18287.
• Kang, Erin, Severine Durand, Jocelyn J. LeBlanc, Takao K. Hensch, Chinfei Chen, and Michela Fagiolini. “Visual Acuity Development and Plasticity in the Absence of Sensory Experience.” The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 45 (2013): 17789-17796.
• McCall, Jordan G., Tae-il Kim, Gunchul Shin, Xian Huang, Yei Hwan Jung, Ream Al-Hasani, Fiorenzo G. Omenetto, Michael R. Bruchas, and John A. Rogers. “Fabrication and application of flexible, multimodal light-emitting devices for wireless optogenetics.” Nature Protocols 8, no. 12 (2013): 2413-2428.
• Peiker, Christiane, Thomas Wunderle, David Eriksson, Anne Schmidt, and Kerstin E. Schmidt. “An Updated Midline Rule: Visual Callosal Connections Anticipate Shape and Motion in Ongoing Activity across the Hemispheres.” The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 46 (2013): 18036-18046.
• Winkowski, Daniel E., Sharba Bandyopadhyay, Shihab A. Shamma, and Patrick O. Kanold. “Frontal Cortex Activation Causes Rapid Plasticity of Auditory Cortical Processing.” The Journal of Neuroscience 33, no. 46 (2013): 18134-18148.

To take advantage of the product line’s introductory pricing, an order must be placed with Plexon by December 31, 2013 by either a submitted credit card form or a Purchase Order. Plexon quotes are typically valid for 90 days; however, pricing for PlexBright line items on quotes generated in 2013 will be valid until December 31, 2013.

Plexon Closed for Thanksgiving Holiday

In observation of Thanksgiving, Plexon’s world headquarters will be closed November 28 – 29, with standard operations resuming on Monday, December 2nd. Plexon Europe will remain open.

Offline Sorter™ Promotion

Get in on our 30th Anniversary specials for Offline Sorter (OFS) version 3! When you purchase OFS v3, choose either a special pricing (~$1,000 savings) or an extra license ($2,000+ savings). Email info@plexon.com to request a quote or place an order. This promotion expires December 20, 2013.

Innovation for the Next 30 Years

Plexon continues to celebrate its 30th year serving researchers around the globe!