NeuroSolutions Ltd. was established in the UK in 2001 to provide clients with highly specialised contract electrophysiological research. Our related companies are based in Montreal, Canada (Cerebrasol Canada Ltd) and Melbourne, Australia (Pacific Discovery Services Ltd) with further laboratories in Bogor, Indonesia. The companies provide a flexible, highly skilled service with fast turnaround that meets the needs of a wide range of biopharmaceutical companies. Our large portfolio of clients, many of them repeat customers, ranging from small start-ups to multinational pharmaceutical companies provides validation of our quality, reliability, speed and discretion.

How we do this;
Molecular biology services
Single cell rt-PCR, real time qPCR, immunohistochemistry

Behavioural modelling of disease
Pain models (Chung, CCI etc.), anxiety, obesity, Alzheimer’s disease

In vivo electrophysiology
Almost all brain regions, spinal cord, nerve fibres single fibre level, naïve and model animals

In vitro slice electrophysiology
Almost all brain regions, spinal cord, naïve and model animals, single/dual recordings

Range of Projects;
Simple fee for service: single compound contract
Multiple FTE contracts: mechanism of action of a series of compounds
Speciality in providing ‘proof of concept’ studies for novel chemical entities

Areas;
Pain; Acute, Surgical, Neuropathic, Inflammatory, Migraine, Arthritis, Diabetic Neuropathy, Chemotherapy neuropathy,
Neurodegeneration; Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, Huntington’s Disease
Psychiatry; Depression, Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Psycosis
Other; Obesity, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Channelopathies, Safety Pharmacology

Example Range of Models for Pain;
Chronic constriction injury
Spinal nerve ligation
Diabetes-induced
Chemotherapy-induced
Fracture pain model
Carrageenan
Complete Freund’s adjuvant
Formalin
MIA
UVB
Surgical pain

Pain Behavioural Readouts;
Von Frey hair
Hargreave’s
Randall-Selitto
Weight-bearing
Paw licking, shaking, lifting
Plethysmography
RotaRod test

Pain Electrohphysiological Assays;
In vivo: Single fibre recording, spontaneous and evoked, single neurone recording from the spinal cord and brain, all naïve and modelled animals

In vitro: Compound action potential recording from isolated nerves, naïve and modelled, slice patch-clamp recordings, dissociated DRG patch-clamp recordings from naïve and modelled animals

Neurodegeneration Behavioural Tests;
Open field: e.g. object recognition test (ORT), Y-maze, Barnes maze
Operant chambers: e.g. Alternating Lever Cyclic Ratio (ALCR), delayed match-to-position (DMTP/DNMTP)
Beta-amyloid induced deficits (ADDL/APP/oligomers/aggregated) α-synuclein-induced deficits
Commercially available transgenic rodent models

Neurodegeneration Electrophysiological Assays;
In vivo: single cells – extra and intracellular recording; iontophoretic, central and parenteral drug administration
Local field potentials – spontaneous and evoked, including LTP/LTD
Peripheral nerves – compound and single fibre
Telemetric and multi-electrode recording
In vitro: whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from brain slices (current/voltage/blind/visualised)
Local field potentials – spontaneous and evoked extracellular recordings from brain slices, including LTP/LTD and multi-electrode recording (MEA)
Ion channel pharmacology – state-dependency, kinetics, and site of action using cultured and primary dissociated neurones, cell lines

Psychiatry Behavioural Tests;
Barnes maze
Conflict anxiety model (high level illumination & odour)

Psychiatry Electrophysiological Assays;
In vivo: single unit recordings from hippocampus/ striatum/ substantia nigra/ dorsal raphe/ prefrontal cortex / brainstem Local field potential/population spike recording from hippocampus; CA1/DG/CA3, LTP, MEA
In vitro: whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from brain slices (current/voltage/blind/visualised)
Local field potentials – spontaneous and evoked extracellular recordings from brain slices, including LTP/LTD and multi-electrode recording (MEA) Ion channel pharmacology – state-dependency, kinetics, and site of action using cultured and primary dissociated neurones, cell lines1

Other Behavioural Tests;
DIO
Transgenic Mice

Electrophysiological Assays;
In vivo: single unit recordings from most characterised brain regions
Local field potential/population spike recording from hippocampus/cortex
In vitro: whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from brain slices (current/voltage/blind/visualised)
Local field potentials – spontaneous and evoked extracellular recordings from brain slices
Ion channel pharmacology: state-dependency, kinetics, and site of action using cultured and primary dissociated neurones, cell lines