Low noise amplification of physiological recordings

TATIANA ALONSO AMOR; GABRIEL B. MINDLIN; EZEQUIEL M. ARNEODO

Huerta Grande, Córdoba.

Congreso; SAN 2011 (Reunión anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias); 2011

Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias

Birdsong production involves the driving of a nonlinear biomechanical periphery (the vocal organ) by physiological instructions, originated in the bird's brain. These instructions are learned, and the result of that interaction is a diverse set of vocalizations. This makes birdsong a preferred animal model to study learned, complex behavior. Within a program aimed at unveiling the mechanisms underlying such learning process, we built a bio-prosthetic avian vocal organ that integrates a mathematical model of a bird's syrinx, when driven by a muted bird via physiological recordings. The on-line treatment of physiological recordings requires stability and low noise during the acquisition and amplification phase. We present a student’s lab project which implements an ubiquitous solution, with perspectives to portability. We built a two-stage custom amplifier. Recordings are pre-amplified in-situ (inside a Faraday cage, where the subject is located) by means of a battery-operated stage. In a second stage, the signal is prepared for real-time integration to produce synthetic birdsong. The two-stage amplifier presented here is an affordable solution, suitable for the acquisition of physiological signals such as ECG, EMG and those resulting from mechanical transducers.