Understanding plasticity of neural networks is a key to comprehending their development and function. A powerful technique to study neural plasticity includes recording and control of pre- and post-synaptic neural activity, e.g., by using simultaneous intracellular recording and stimulation of several neurons. Intracellular recording is, however, a demanding technique and has its limitations in...

the optic nerve, it has been possible to specify many of the functions performed bv the vertebrate retina. These include brightness detection (16, 18, 27), centersurround contrast detection (1, 8, 20, 23), and motion detection (3, 4, 26-28). It has not been possible, however, to determine how the retina organizes the visual message recorded at the optic nerve, primarily because intracellular re...

the optic nerve, it has been possible to specify many of the functions performed bv the vertebrate retina. These include brightness detection (16, 18, 27), centersurround contrast detection (1, 8, 20, 23), and motion detection (3, 4, 26-28). It has not been possible, however, to determine how the retina organizes the visual message recorded at the optic nerve, primarily because intracellular re...

Isolated single (Xenopus) muscle fibers were stained with a non-permeant potential-probing dye, merocyanine rhodanine (WW375) or merocyanine oxazolone (NK2367). When the fiber was massively stimulated, an absorption change (wave a), which seemed to reflect the action potential, occurred. Simultaneous recording of optical changes and intracellular action potentials revealed that the time-course ...

We have developed a system for simultaneous optical recording of transients of membrane potential and intracellular calcium concentration from mammalian brain slice preparations with high spatio-temporal resolution. Simultaneous recording was achieved by using two dedicated photodetectors together with two fluorescent indicators. Specifically, the calcium-sensitive dye Calcium Orange and the vo...

Inhibition of transmission between tactile sensory neurons and interneurons in the crayfish was investigated by intracellular recording int the presynaptic processes. Inhibition is correlated with a depolarization of the presynaptic process, as in the mammalian spinal cord; the depolarization is accompanied by a conductance increase, and is mediated by interneurons that can be excited by a vari...

Intracellular recording was used to study the response to light of second order visual cells within the optic ganglion of Hermissenda crassicornis. Simultaneous recordings revealed that type B but not type A photoreceptors inhibit the second order cells. Additional details of the neural organization of the visual system were obtained. Possible functional implications of this neural organization...

The dorsal striatum is regarded as a substrate for action selection and motor habits, but much of it is connected to sensory, not motor, cortex. In this issue of Neuron, Reig and Silberberg (2014) use intracellular recording to reveal connections between sensory cortex and striatum.