神經網路中神經細胞之間的連結及訊息傳遞是個複雜的過程。鈣離子在神經網路中扮演著傳遞及調控神經細胞之間的訊息傳遞，利用鈣離子螢光造影的技術，我們可以觀察到神經網路中會有同步發火的現象。在這篇論文中，我們取下大鼠大腦皮質的神經細胞做體外培養，並利用紫外光雷射破壞神經網路中的細胞來研究神經細胞叢集大小與同步發火頻率之間的關係。另外鈣離子波的產生也出現在破壞神經細胞的過程，我們發現神經網路中鈣離子波的傳遞行為類似於擴散行為，但其擴散係數比自由的鈣離子大上一個數量級。我們亦分析其他實驗室對神經網路中神經膠質細胞Müller cell的鈣離子波的研究，一樣也可以得到類擴散行為的結果，只不過Müller cell的鈣離子波擴散係數較我們實驗中神經細胞的鈣離子波擴散係數要來的小。

The neural network connectivity is very complex. Calcium ion helps a neuron singal other neurons in neural network. In this thesis, cortical neurons from rat embryos are cultured to form neural networks. We observe the phenomenon of synchronous firing(SF) and use UV laser to destroy neuron network to see how does it changes in SF frequency. We also induce calcium waves in neuron network by UV laser killing. The behavior of calcium wave is like a diffusion process, but the diffusion constant measure in our experiment is much bigger than diffusion constant of free calcium ion.

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