Dec 11, 2025
EMG recordings
- Ines Rodrigues-Vaz1,2,3
- 1Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Departments of Neuroscience and Neurology, Columbia University;
- 2Champalimaud Neuroscience Programme, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown;
- 3Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network
Protocol Citation: Ines Rodrigues-Vaz 2025. EMG recordings. protocols.io https://dx.doi.org/10.17504/protocols.io.36wgqpx4yvk5/v1
License: This is an open access protocol distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Protocol status: Working
We use this protocol and it's working
Created: December 01, 2025
Last Modified: December 11, 2025
Protocol Integer ID: 233942
Keywords: ASAPCRN, emg recording, bulk emg, standard protocol for recording, recording, standard protocol, vaz
Funders Acknowledgements:
Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s
Grant ID: ASAP-020551
Abstract
This is the standard protocol for recordings of bulk EMG used for Rodrigues-Vaz and Athalye et al, 2025.
Materials
• ZIF-Clip adapter from Tucker-Davis Technologies (TDT) ZC16 headstage (16 channel ZIF-Clip)
• TDT RZ5D Bioamplifier processor (acquisition and synchronization device)
• TDT PZ5-32 (Z-series 32-channel Neuro-digitizing preamplifier)
• Synapse software from TDT for recording EMG
Safety warnings
-Wear appropriate PPE as required by your institution.
Ethics statement
This protocol was approved by Columbia University IACUC. Please do not perform any of these procedures unless there is prior approval from the institution's animal ethics committee.
Before start
-Mice were implanted with EMG electrodes in forelimb muscles, head plate, and GRIN lens and habituated to being head fixed.
-Behavior setup was prepared and placed under microscope for in vivo experiments.
-2-photon microscope was also prepared for simultaneous recordings.
General preparation
Confirm EMG recordings are set to “true differential” in Synapse recording software.
Head fix mouse in behavior setup under microscope and connect ZC16 headstage to implanted connector.
Confirm that signals are recording when mouse moves.
Optimize grounding if noise is not within normal range – mouse is grounded to air table.
Record session, confirming that all TTLs are being recorded as expected by design.
At the end of the session, turn off all behavior boards, the imaging recording and lastly the EMG recordings.
Unplug headstage and return mouse to homecage.
Transfer data to hard-drive.
End of day procedure
Store all cables in safe location