In drug development and pharmacological evaluation, drug effects on neuronal network function can be measured in vitro, using neuronal cell cultures on microelectrode arrays (MEA). This cell-based biosensor is a sensitive and reliable system with high repeatability, yielding valid results before animal testing.





Tissue specificity is retained through variation of cell type in histiotypic cultured networks. Over a wide spectrum of drug classes, responses of such in vitro experiments have been shown to closely mimic the in vivo situation. In particular, the Neurochip screens network-driven neuronal function beyond single-cell patch-clamp experiments. Analyses of circuit dependent network activity reveal presynaptic, receptor-mediated and ion-channel effects at the same time.