AUTOMATIC-ANALYSIS OF CORTICAL SIGNALS RECORDED WITH VOLTAGE-SENSITIVE DYES USING A FORWARD-BACKWARD NONLINEAR FILTERING TECHNIQUE AND DECONVOLUTION

A method for automatically analyzing cortical signals recorded with vo ltage-sensitive dyes and a photodiode array is described. First, a for ward-backward non-linear filtering technique is used to eliminate the background noise and preserve the fast transients of the signals. Then the filtered signals are deconvoluted from their maximal values by us ing a gaussian function. The different components of the signals can b e identified and characterized by their respective latencies, amplitud es, plateau durations, and slopes. These parameters can be used for su bsequent statistical analysis. This automated method is much faster th an a manual analysis because of the large number of responses that are optically recorded. Moreover, it can be easily applied to different e xperimental protocols and to other signals such as field potentials.