Non-invasive primate head restraint using thermoplastic masks

•Individualized thermoplastic masks restrain awake monkeys’ heads non-invasively.•Masks suppress movement sufficiently for electrophysiology and eye-tracking.•Compared to head-posts, masks cost less and better enable MRI and TMS. The success of many neuroscientific studies depends upon adequate head...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of neuroscience methods 2015-09, Vol.253, p.90-100
Main Authors: Drucker, Caroline B., Carlson, Monica L., Toda, Koji, DeWind, Nicholas K., Platt, Michael L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Action Potentials - physiology
Animals
Brain - cytology
Electrophysiology
Equipment Design
Eye Movements - physiology
Eye-tracking
Female
Head - physiology
Head restraint
Head-post
Macaca mulatta
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Masks
Neurons - physiology
Non-human primates
Restraint, Physical
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation
Wakefulness
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Summary:•Individualized thermoplastic masks restrain awake monkeys’ heads non-invasively.•Masks suppress movement sufficiently for electrophysiology and eye-tracking.•Compared to head-posts, masks cost less and better enable MRI and TMS. The success of many neuroscientific studies depends upon adequate head fixation of awake, behaving animals. Typically, this is achieved by surgically affixing a head-restraint prosthesis to the skull. Here we report the use of thermoplastic masks to non-invasively restrain monkeys’ heads. Mesh thermoplastic sheets become pliable when heated and can then be molded to an individual monkey's head. After cooling, the custom mask retains this shape indefinitely for day-to-day use. We successfully trained rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to perform cognitive tasks while wearing thermoplastic masks. Using these masks, we achieved a level of head stability sufficient for high-resolution eye-tracking and intracranial electrophysiology. Compared with traditional head-posts, we find that thermoplastic masks perform at least as well during infrared eye-tracking and single-neuron recordings, allow for clearer magnetic resonance image acquisition, enable freer placement of a transcranial magnetic stimulation coil, and impose lower financial and time costs on the lab. We conclude that thermoplastic masks are a viable non-invasive form of primate head restraint that enable a wide range of neuroscientific experiments.
ISSN:0165-0270
1872-678X
DOI:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2015.06.013