Feedback controlled nerve fiber impalement.
A device has been described for the automatic impalement of nerve fibers. Although developed specifically for that task, the technique can be applied for intracellular recording from other cells or processes. The basis of the techniques is to use the cell membrane potential to stop the advance of a fast moving microelectrode. With slight modification it can be used to stop microdrive advance upon receipt of an action potential. The circuit was constructed by interconnecting commercially available instruments found in most electrophysiology laboratories. Use of the device for recording from the dorsal column fibers of the cat increased the number of stable cell penetrations per unit of time by between one and two orders of magnitude.
D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D004594:Electrophysiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D005246:Feedback; D008564:Membrane Potentials; D009412:Nerve Fibers / Q000502:physiology*