Combining loose cell-attached stimulation and recording.
Many synaptic-physiology experiments require selective stimulation of presynaptic neurones. No single method for achieving this is entirely satisfactory. Presynaptic whole-cell or microelectrode recordings offer outstanding control, but establishing such recordings of synaptically-connected neurones can be very time consuming. Minimal stimulation provides too little information regarding the condition and excitation of the presynaptic neurone(s). In the loose cell-attached configuration, it is possible both to stimulate individual cells and to record their action potentials, but most commercially-available equipment will not enable combining stimulation and recording. We demonstrate simultaneous loose cell-attached stimulation and recording of action potentials using a specially-designed patch-clamp amplifier. Since no tight seal is required, the method permits electrode re-use, thus enabling rapid screening of presynaptic cells while stimulating them selectively.
Barbour
B
B
Laboratoire de Neurobiologie (CNRS UMR 8544), Ecole Normale Supérieure, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75005, Paris, France. barbour@ens.fr
Isope
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P
D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D019706:Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology