Have you ever wondered what brain cells sound like?
ApconiX developed an in vitro seizure liability assay (iSLA) to support clients in drug discovery and development. This assay has 87% predictivity and excellent in vitro to in vivo translation
and has been successfully used to derisk and prioritise chemical series, identify potential seizurogenic compounds and to assess human relevance of seizures seen in vivo.
The assay is a panel of 15 human ion channels tested by automated electrophysiology and the measurement of electrical activity of human derived neuronal stem cells by microelectrode array (MEA).
A very talented group of people turned the MEA electrical signals into music.
Initially, once the brain cells are plated on the MEA, the brain cells don’t communicate with one another but at around 2-3 weeks they connect together to form a happy network, sending electrical signals back and forth, just like in the human brain.
Here is their music:
The Story Behind Tubular Cells
At ApconiX, we record electrical signals from brain cells in our lab as part of our vital research into seizures, such as those associated with epilepsy. With help from talented programmers and musicians, we have turned those electrical signals into music!
The brain cells you will hear are grown from human stem cells in special tissue culture plate that has microelectrodes that monitor the cells’ activity.
Initially, these brain cells don’t communicate but at around 2-3 weeks they connect together to form a happy network, sending electrical signals back and forth, just like in the human brain.
The first part of the soundscape piece is from these happy cells; you can hear quiet clicking, a little like harmonious humming or white noise. As part of our research, we then add drugs that cause seizures – you can then hear that the cells are distressed and are generating waves of uncontrolled electrical activity, just like that associated with seizures and epilepsy. The brain cells then recover when the drug is removed.
So how did we make music from these brain cells?
Well, our collaborators at Axion Biosystems, Parker Ellingson and Austin Passaro, generated single electrode recordings from the same cells before, during and after treatment with the seizure-inducing drug, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP).
Michael Sebastian, a South African musician now based in London-coded the authentic electrical data to a voice in a synth chord, meaning that the voices open when the neurons fire. Michael then processed this by adding instruments and textures to create a beautiful and fascinating piece of music.
Listen to the podcast of how the music was made:
The Collaborators
‘Tubular Cells’ is named after the 1973 ground-breaking album from Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells
Tubular Cells is copyrighted to Michael Sebastian www.bastiancreations.com
Many thanks to Paul Gisby of www.talkingleaders.com who created the podcast
With assistance from:
Austin Passaro – Neuroscientist and MEA expert
Magnus Dahlstrand – Programmer
Andrew Walker – Scientific Writer
And thanks to:
Axion Biosystems for the MEA equipment
FujiFilm Cellular Dynamics Inc for the human stem cell neurones