Plexon Research Spotlight

A Featured Spotlight on SiNAPS

Nick Burgraff

University of Wisconsin-Madison

What type of neuroscience research do you do and what got you interested in this research?

We study the neural control of cardiorespiratory function, with a particular emphasis on how brainstem networks coordinate breathing and circulation. Our research aims to uncover the fundamental mechanisms of this control and to develop translational models and interventions to address clinical pathologies. Currently, we are investigating the neural regulation of the airways and the mechanisms underlying cardiorespiratory collapse following opioid overdose. This work builds on our earlier studies of rhythm generation in the brainstem, where we focused on the respiratory control center as a key region of interest.

 

What challenges do you encounter with this type of work, and how has Plexon’s SiNAPS OmniPlex system help you overcome these challenges?

A central challenge in our work is linking neural circuits across different levels of analysis. There is often a disconnect between whole-animal in vivo physiology and single-cell neuronal recordings. Traditionally, circuit-level understanding relied on extrapolating single-cell activity to infer network function. The SiNAPS and OmniPlex systems help bridge this gap by providing an integrated view of network activity in vivo. These tools allow us to examine how heterogeneous populations of neurons interact to generate unified patterns that regulate cardiorespiratory function. Moreover, SiNAPS probes enable high-resolution cellular recordings within intact, behaving systems and can be combined with approaches such as optogenetics to define the cellular mechanisms that shape network dynamics.

We know that data handling with this large-scale CMOS recordings can be challenging. Can you share with us the tools used to process and analyze your data post recording?
 
Data handling for large-scale CMOS recordings can indeed be a major challenge. Thankfully, the SiNAPS data analysis pipeline (SDP) provides automated spike sorting and data curation, transforming what was once an arduous step into an efficient workflow while still allowing for manual curation when necessary to ensure accuracy. For post-processing and visualization, we rely on NeuroExplorer, which offers a broad set of analytical tools to evaluate nearly all aspects of the recordings. Importantly, the direct integration of Python within NeuroExplorer allows us to maintain organized datasets, customize analyses, and create a centralized hub for reproducible workflows. Together, these tools provide both efficiency and flexibility in extracting meaningful information from our large-scale recordings.
 

Do you have a recent publication or abstract that you would like to share?

We have a few papers coming out soon, shown below.

  1. Parks, R.R., Andersen, M.J., Hatfield, M.L., Burgraff, N.J., (2025) Fentanyl Disrupts Vagal Control of Airway Tone to Induce Transient Obstruction. Acta Physiologica, In-Review
  2. Wei, A. D., Burgraff, N. J., Oliveira, L. M., Moreira, T. S., & Ramirez, J. M. (2025). Fentanyl blockade of K+ channels contribute to Wooden Chest Syndrome. J.Physiology In press

Plexon Product Used

SiNAPS

OmniPlex

NeuroExplorer

Plexon Research Spotlight

A Featured Spotlight on SiNAPS

Nick Burgraff

University of Wisconsin-Madison

What type of neuroscience research do you do and what got you interested in this research?

We study the neural control of cardiorespiratory function, with a particular emphasis on how brainstem networks coordinate breathing and circulation. Our research aims to uncover the fundamental mechanisms of this control and to develop translational models and interventions to address clinical pathologies. Currently, we are investigating the neural regulation of the airways and the mechanisms underlying cardiorespiratory collapse following opioid overdose. This work builds on our earlier studies of rhythm generation in the brainstem, where we focused on the respiratory control center as a key region of interest.

 

What challenges do you encounter with this type of work, and how has Plexon’s SiNAPS OmniPlex system help you overcome these challenges?

A central challenge in our work is linking neural circuits across different levels of analysis. There is often a disconnect between whole-animal in vivo physiology and single-cell neuronal recordings. Traditionally, circuit-level understanding relied on extrapolating single-cell activity to infer network function. The SiNAPS and OmniPlex systems help bridge this gap by providing an integrated view of network activity in vivo. These tools allow us to examine how heterogeneous populations of neurons interact to generate unified patterns that regulate cardiorespiratory function. Moreover, SiNAPS probes enable high-resolution cellular recordings within intact, behaving systems and can be combined with approaches such as optogenetics to define the cellular mechanisms that shape network dynamics.

We know that data handling with this large-scale CMOS recordings can be challenging. Can you share with us the tools used to process and analyze your data post recording?
 
Data handling for large-scale CMOS recordings can indeed be a major challenge. Thankfully, the SiNAPS data analysis pipeline (SDP) provides automated spike sorting and data curation, transforming what was once an arduous step into an efficient workflow while still allowing for manual curation when necessary to ensure accuracy. For post-processing and visualization, we rely on NeuroExplorer, which offers a broad set of analytical tools to evaluate nearly all aspects of the recordings. Importantly, the direct integration of Python within NeuroExplorer allows us to maintain organized datasets, customize analyses, and create a centralized hub for reproducible workflows. Together, these tools provide both efficiency and flexibility in extracting meaningful information from our large-scale recordings.
 

Do you have a recent publication or abstract that you would like to share?

We have a few papers coming out soon, shown below.

  1. Parks, R.R., Andersen, M.J., Hatfield, M.L., Burgraff, N.J., (2025) Fentanyl Disrupts Vagal Control of Airway Tone to Induce Transient Obstruction. Acta Physiologica, In-Review
  2. Wei, A. D., Burgraff, N. J., Oliveira, L. M., Moreira, T. S., & Ramirez, J. M. (2025). Fentanyl blockade of K+ channels contribute to Wooden Chest Syndrome. J.Physiology In press

Plexon Product Used

SiNAPS

OmniPlex

NeuroExplorer