# Deciphering Neural Mechanisms Underlying Marmoset Dynamic Natural Behaviors Using a Miniaturized Wireless Large‐Scale Coverage Neural Recorder

## TL;DR

A miniaturized wireless neural recorder captures brain activity in freely moving marmosets to study natural behaviors like drinking and vigilance.

## Contribution

A custom 120-channel wireless neural recorder enables long-term, high-fidelity recordings of brain activity in freely moving marmosets.

## Key findings

- The recorder captures behavior-specific neural dynamics, such as alpha-band activation during drinking and high-gamma increases during vigilance.
- Three distinct phases of drinking behavior were identified with over 87% accuracy using multi-area neural features.
- The system maintains high signal fidelity for over 16 months, enabling long-term studies of natural primate behaviors.

## Abstract

Deciphering neural mechanisms underlying dynamic natural behaviors of freely moving species requires long‐term recordings of large‐scale brain activities. However, most conventional neural recorders are limited by their weights and measures, electrode coverage, and signal throughput, hindering the dissection of underlying neural mechanisms. This study reports real‐time large‐scale recordings and deciphering of brain activities from frontal and temporal cortices of freely moving marmoset across various natural behavioral repertoire using a miniaturized wireless neural recorder comprising a custom‐designed 120‐channel flexible µECoG array. Behavior‐specific highly resolved spatiotemporal neural dynamics are observed, including alpha‐band activations during drinking, anticipatory responses before vocalization, and transient high‐gamma increase during vigilance to human intruders. Three phases of drinking behavior are identified using multi‐area neural features captured by the recorder with an accuracy exceeding 87%. After over 16 months (March 13, 2024‐August 1, 2025, remaining actively recording) of recordings, the neural signals acquired using the recorder maintain high fidelity and low attenuation during both the resting and drinking states, enabling potential long‐term dissection of the neural mechanisms of natural behaviors in freely moving marmosets.

This study introduces a miniaturized wireless neural recording system integrated with custom‐designed 120‐channel µECoG arrays, engineered for monitoring brain activities in freely behaving marmosets. The system can capture and characterize behavior‐specific neural signals, including drinking‐related activation, pre‐vocalization anticipatory responses, and vigilance‐induced transient responses, enabling advanced studies of neural mechanisms underlying natural primate behaviors.