TY  - JOUR
AU  - Qi, Guanxiao
AU  - Radnikow, Gabriele
AU  - Feldmeyer, Dirk
TI  - Electrophysiological and Morphological Characterization of Neuronal Microcircuits in Acute Brain Slices Using Paired Patch-Clamp Recordings
JO  - Journal of visualized experiments
VL  -  
IS  - 95
SN  - 1940-087X
CY  - [S.l.]
PB  - JoVE
M1  - FZJ-2015-02387
SP  - 52358
PY  - 2015
AB  - The combination of patch clamp recordings from two (or more) synaptically coupled neurons (paired recordings) in acute brain slice preparations with simultaneous intracellular biocytin filling allows a correlated analysis of their structural and functional properties. With this method it is possible to identify and characterize both pre- and postsynaptic neurons by their morphology and electrophysiological response pattern. Paired recordings allow studying the connectivity patterns between these neurons as well as the properties of both chemical and electrical synaptic transmission. Here, we give a step-by-step description of the procedures required to obtain reliable paired recordings together with an optimal recovery of the neuron morphology. We will describe how pairs of neurons connected via chemical synapses or gap junctions are identified in brain slice preparations. We will outline how neurons are reconstructed to obtain their 3D morphology of the dendritic and axonal domain and how synaptic contacts are identified and localized. We will also discuss the caveats and limitations of the paired recording technique, in particular those associated with dendritic and axonal truncations during the preparation of brain slices because these strongly affect connectivity estimates. However, because of the versatility of the paired recording approach it will remain a valuable tool in characterizing different aspects of synaptic transmission at identified neuronal microcircuits in the brain.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000361532900060
C6  - pmid:25650985
DO  - DOI:10.3791/52358
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/189196
ER  -