[Patch clamp recording in brain slice--modified blind method and the perforated patch clamp method].

Abstract

The use of the patch clamp recording in combination with the technique of the brain slice is the forefront method widely used in the studies of the neurocircuit in vitro. However, few authors in the papers published in domestic journals adopted this method. This paper presents the author's work to modify some details of blind method and the perforated patch clamp method. We used a dissecting microscope (with 40 times object lens) to replace the reverse microscope. As the recording electrode is very important in the experiment, we studied the size and the shape of the electrode tip and used two to three steps to pull the electrode so that the process of polishing of the electrode tip was not necessary and in perforated patch recording the synaptic transmission could be observed at the depolarization of 0-40 mV. The author also showed typical current or voltage waveforms in voltage or current mode respectively for guiding how to obtain the tight-seal whole cell patch. As these modifications have facilitated the acquisition of stable recording and lowered the cost of instrumentation, the methods become more suitable for the use in domestic laboratories.