In the slow-wave (SW) state, the vast majority of cortical neurons exhibit mostly synchronized oscillatory activity. In this study, we examined the right-left hemispheric difference in slow-wave timings in urethane-anesthetized mice. We found that interhemispheric cross-correlograms of local field potentials (LFPs) peaked asymmetrically. Double in vivo whole-cell patch-clamp recordings also rev...

33 GABA A receptors expressed in the dorsal motor nucleus of vagus (DMV) critically 34 regulate the activity of vagal motor neurons and, by inference, the gastrointestinal tract. Two 35 types of GABA A receptor-mediated inhibition have been identified in the brain, represented by 36 phasic (I phasic) and tonic (I tonic) inhibitory currents. The hypothesis that I tonic regulates neuron 37 activi...

Here we present a planar patch clamp chip based on biomimetic cell membrane fusion. This architecture uses nanometer length-scale surface patterning to replicate the structure and function of membrane proteins, creating a gigaohm seal between the cell and a planar electrode array. The seal is generated passively during cell spreading, without the application of a vacuum to the cell surface. Thi...

The patch clamp method measures membrane currents at very high resolution when a high-resistance 'gigaseal' is established between the glass microelectrode and the cell membrane (Pflugers Arch. 391 (1981) 85; Neuron 8 (1992) 605). Here we describe the first use of the silicone elastomer, poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS), for patch clamp electrodes. PDMS is an attractive material for patch clamp re...

MC3T3-E1 osteogenic cells in a growing state were voltage-clamped by the whole-cell patch-clamp method. The MC3T3-E1 cells exhibited a transient, fast-inactivating Ca inward current upon depolarizing pulses from a holding potential of -80 mV. This current had a threshold of activation of about -50 mV and was insensitive to the dihydropyridine, nifedipine. These results show that MC3T3-E1 cells ...

Actions of the new antiepileptic drug lamotrigine (LTG) were characterized using extracellular and whole cell patch clamp recordings from rat CA1 and CA3 pyramidal cells in vitro. The results suggest that LTG, beside its previously described effect on the fast sodium inward current, also modulates - presumably voltage-gated - calcium currents and the transient potassium outward current ID. Thes...

Pair recordings involve simultaneous whole cell patch clamp recordings from two synaptically connected neurons, enabling not only direct electrophysiological characterization of the synaptic connections between individual neurons, but also pharmacological manipulation of either the presynaptic or the postsynaptic neuron. When carried out in organotypic hippocampal slice cultures, the probabilit...

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans offers unique experimental advantages for defining the molecular basis of anion channel function and regulation. However, the relative inaccessibility of somatic cells in adult animals greatly limits direct electrophysiological studies of channel activity. We developed methods to routinely isolate and patch clamp C. elegans embryo cells and oocytes and to cul...

A conventional borosilicate glass patch pipette is glued into a plastic jacket, forming the entity of a FlipTip®. One or two three-channel modules of recording tip sockets are mounted on a liquid handler platform to take up FlipTips. The tip sockets are connected to preamplifiers (HEKA) and to a suction system. The inner chamber of the tip sockets is filled with intracellular solution (IS), and...