BME5013 - Neural Signal Processing

The Instructor:
Dr. Görkem SERBES (E006)
[email protected]
https://avesis.yildiz.edu.tr/gserbes/

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 Course Details
• Course Code : BME5013

• Course Name: Neural Signal Processing

• Instructor : Görkem SERBES

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Micro Level Neuroscience

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Why do we need to study Neuroscience in Micro Level?

• We inspire from the nature.

– Neural Networks
– Control Systems

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 Neural Infromation Systems
• How the information is:
– Acquired
– Stored
– Processed
– Transmitted

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 Neural Infromation Systems
• The nervous system is started in early times of
evolution, after the multi-cellular systems
were started to evolve. Multi-cellular
Systems

Specialization

Threats
Food processing Disposal
Cells

Sensory
System

Logic (Nervous System)

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 Nervous System
Input Processing Output

Sensory Brain Effectors

Muscles
(Motor)

Sensory Central Nervous Motor System

System System

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 Anatomy of the Neuron
The Neuron

DEFINITION FUNCTION
Cells that make up the nervous
●inhibition
system
●excitation
●neuromodulation
 Neuron Structures
The Classic Neuron

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 Neuron Structures (Cont.)
The Cell Body (aka the soma)

• The part of the neuron from which all neurites extend

• Function: synthesis of proteins and other necessary materials
• part of the receptive region of the neuron
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 Neuron Structures (Cont.)
Essential Organelles

Mitochondria Endoplasmic
Cytosol
Reticulum

●Fluid that surrounds ●ATP Production ●produces proteins

the organelles ●neuronal ER can produce
● rich in potassium peptide neurotransmitters

K+

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 Neuron Structures (Cont.)
Essential Organelles

Golgi Cytoskeleton
Nucleus
Apparatus

●sorts and processes proteins ●holds the genetic material ●supports structure of the cell
●prepares vesicles for of the cell ●allows for transport of
neurotransmission ●neurotransmitters materials along axon
influence gene transcription
in the nucleus

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Neuron Structures (Cont.)

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 The Axon

●extends away from the cell body

●“sending neurite”- carries signal from cell body to receiving neuron
●terminals contain neurotransmitters
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 Axoplasmic Transport

• movement of materials along axon collateral

• actin filaments bind to vesicles
• dyenin and kinesin bind microtubules
• disruption causes degradation of neurons

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 The Dendrites

Axon Hillock

●“receiving neurite”- carries signal from other neurons to the cell body
●contains special receptors that bind neurotransmitters

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 The Synapse

●area between where neurotransmitter is released from an axon and where

the neurotransmitter is received
●sending membrane: presynaptic membrane
●receiving: postsynaptic membrane
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 Types of Synapses

Axodendritic synapse

Dendrites
Axosomatic synapse
Soma
Axoaxonic synapse

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Preview of what happens at the synapse...

Presynaptic membrane

Postsynaptic membrane

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 Types of Neurons

Unipolar Bipolar Multipolar

●Single neurite ●two neurites ●more than two
● typically one ●one is a “fused” neurites
branch is a sensory dendrite ●only one of the
receptor ●one is an axon neurites is an axon

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 A Quick Note on Pathways
Afferent Pathways Efferent Pathways
Pathways from sensory organs to the Pathways from the brain to effector
brain organs

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 Types of Neurons (Cont.)

Sensory Neuron Interneurons Motor Neuron

● input- sensory organs ● only connected to other ● forms neuromuscular
●cell structure- unipolar, bipolar neurons junction
● afferent pathways ● ●
cell structure- multipolar cell structure- multipolar
●can be afferent or efferent ●efferent pathways

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 Support Cells – Glial Cells
Support system for the neurons

Oligodendrocytes Microglia

●Synthesizes myelin ●Immune cells of

the CNS
●Removes damaged
cells and synapses

Astrocytes Ependymal cells

●provides structural and ●secrete cerebrospinal
biochemical support fluid
●produces growth factors

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 Glial Cells- A Closer Look
Support system for the neurons
Glial Cells- A Closer Look

The Myelin Astrocytes Ependymal

Sheath Cells

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Nerves

●bundles of axons
●Types: autonomic, motor, sensory
●spinal nerves: origin in spinal cord
●cranial nerves: origin in brain

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 Action Potential – Some Vocabulary
General Definition

●the electrical impulse that passes

along an axon
●causes neurotransmitter release
●driven by electrochemical
gradient
●“all or nothing”

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 Action Potential – Some Vocabulary (Cont.)
Membrane Potential

Definition Maintenance
● measure of the voltage across the axolemma The resting membrane potential is around
● depolarization: membrane potential -70mV, and is maintained through the
becomes positive movement of ions through channels in the
●hyperpolarization: membrane potential axolemma
becomes more negative

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Action Potential – Some Vocabulary (Cont.)
Electricity and the Neuron

The Action Potential...

Is essentially an electric impulse with flow of ions instead of flow of electrons

Key Idea
Different charges on either side of the axolemma = potential energy

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 Action Potential – Some Vocabulary (Cont.)
Key Molecules
Sodium and Potassium

Sodium is in
higher
concentration
outside the cell

Potassium is in
higher
concentration
inside the cell
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 Action Potential – Some Vocabulary (Cont.)
Electrochemical Gradients
Driving force

Chemical Gradients
Ions flow from areas of high concentration to
areas of low concentration

Electric Gradients
Charged molecules are drawn to
molecules of opposite charge

In the Neuron
There is both an electric and a chemical
gradient drawing ions across the
membrane in the action potential

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Action Potential – Some Vocabulary (Cont.)

The Sodium Potassium Pump

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 Action Potential – Some Vocabulary (Cont.)
Ion Channels
Non-gated, chemically gated, voltage gated, mechanically gates

Non-gated Voltage Mechanically Chemically

Gated Gated Gated
pores embedded in activated when
open when the opens when a
the membrane that the membrane is
membrane molecule binds to the
are open to sodium physically
reaches a certain channel itself; often
and potassium deformed (think
potential found on postsynaptic
touch receptors)
membranes
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Movement of the Action Potential

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Ideal Filters
Electrical cont.
origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• Electrical stimuli called action potentials are produced by
nerve cells known as neurons.
• Neurons have a voltage (approximately -60 to -90 mV)
across their cell wall due to the distribution of ions inside
and outside the cell.
• A neuron is at rest when it is not
sending an electrical signal. During
this time, the inside of the neuron is
negative relative to the outside.
• Although the concentrations of the
different ions attempt to balance out on
both sides of the membrane, they cannot
because the cell membrane allows only
some ions to pass through channels
(ion channels). semi-permeable membrane 34
 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• At rest, potassium ions (K+) can cross through the
membrane easily. Also at rest, chloride ions (Cl-) and
sodium ions (Na+) have a more difficult time crossing.
• The negatively charged protein molecules (A-) inside the
neuron cannot cross the membrane.
• In addition to these selective ion channels, there is
a pump that uses energy to move three sodium
ions out of the neuron for every two
potassium ions it puts in.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals

• Finally, when all these forces balance out, and the

difference in the voltage between the inside and outside
of the neuron is measured, you have the resting potential.
• The resting membrane potential of a neuron is about -70
mV (mV=millivolt) - this means that the inside of the
neuron is 70 mV less than the outside.
• At rest, there are relatively more sodium
ions outside the neuron and more
potassium ions inside that neuron.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• The resting potential tells about what happens when a
neuron is at rest.
• An action potential occurs when a neuron sends
information down an axon, away from the cell body.
Neuroscientists use other words, such as a "spike" or an
"impulse" for the action potential.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• The action potential is an explosion of electrical activity
that is created by a depolarizing current.
• This means that some event (a stimulus) causes the
resting potential to move toward 0 mV.
• When the depolarization reaches about -55 mV a neuron
will fire an action potential.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• This is the threshold. If the neuron does not reach this critical
threshold level, then no action potential will fire.
• Also, when the threshold level is reached, an action potential
of a fixed sized will always fire...for any given neuron, the size
of the action potential is always the same.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• There are no big or small action potentials in one nerve cell -
all action potentials are the same size.
• Therefore, the neuron either does not reach the threshold or a
full action potential is fired - this is the "ALL OR NONE"
principle.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• Action potentials are caused when different ions cross the
neuron membrane.
• A stimulus first causes sodium channels to open.
• Because there are many more sodium ions on the outside, and
the inside of the neuron is negative relative to the outside,
sodium ions rush into the neuron.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• Remember, sodium has a positive charge, so the neuron
becomes more positive and becomes depolarized.
• It takes longer for potassium channels to open. When they do
open, potassium rushes out of the cell, reversing the
depolarization.
• Also at about this time, sodium channels start to close.

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 Electrical origin physiological signals - Action Potential Signals
• This causes the action potential to go back toward -70 mV (a
repolarization).
• The action potential actually goes past -70 mV (a
hyperpolarization) because the potassium channels stay
open a bit too long. Gradually, the ion concentrations go
back to resting levels and the cell returns to -70 mV.
• And there you have it...the Action Potential

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Electrical origin physiological signals - Extracellular Action Potential Signals

• In the field of neuroscience, it is necessary to record

the electrical activity of neurons and therefore the
brain using microelectrodes (special sensors with ends
smaller than a neuron that can measure electrical
activity at the cellular level) implanted in the brain.
• Using extracellular neural recording systems, action
potential records can be obtained at the level of
individual nerve cells of living beings.
• High-resolution spatial and temporal data about the
functioning of the nervous system can be obtained
with extracellular recordings.

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Electrical origin physiological signals - Extracellular Action Potential Signals

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Electrical origin physiological signals - Extracellular Action Potential Signals

• This recorded data allows for the development of

methods aimed at understanding the encoded
individual neuron activity both in basic neuroscience
studies and in brain-machine interface studies.
• When extracellular action potential measurement is
performed, the activity of multiple neurons is usually
detected by the same microelectrode.
• Each neuron's action potential signal shows slight
differences based on the cell's morphological
(dendrite and axon structure) structure.
• Therefore, to obtain each neuron's individual activity
(referred to in the literature as spike), advanced signal
processing methods must be applied to the recorded
signals for spike sorting. 46
Electrical origin physiological signals - Extracellular Action Potential Signals

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