Pheromone monitoring in the field using single sensillum recording

In order to obtain direct information of stimulus dynamics perceived by a male moth under field conditions a portable device was constructed which enables continuous recording of responses from individual pheromone receptors. The device is suitable for tip recording by means of micro-knives as well as for recording with tungsten electrodes making it applicable for a wide range of insects. A micro thermistor air velocity sensor is placed within 2 mm from the preparation to record the momentary air flow. The signal conditioning electronic circuits are battery powered, and the signals can be stored on a portable tape recorder. Field recordings were made from individual male antennal pheromone receptors ofAegeria myopaeformis andAdoxophyes orana. In all recordings the instantaneous firing frequency of the receptor cells was strongly modulated by the air velocity. Analysis of the data may provide information about the average pheromone concentration and the fine structure of pheromone plumes under various conditions.     

Automatic data recording of circadian rhythms

This paper illustrates a method for automatic data recording using the printer port of personal computer and software designed ad hoc. The system was tested by measuring circadian rhythms of activity in the subterranean rodent Ctenomys talarum. Data is recorded in a text-only comma-delimited file, and displayed on screen.     

Medial septum glutamatergic neurons control wakefulness through a septo-hypothalamic circuit

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Postsynaptic GABABRs Inhibit L-Type Calcium Channels and Abolish Long-Term Potentiation in Hippocampal Somatostatin Interneurons

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Anomalous Effect of Permeant Ion Concentration on Peak Open Probability of Cardiac Na+ Channels

Human heart Na⁺ channels were expressed transiently in both mammalian cells and Xenopus oocytes, and Na⁺ currents measured using 150 mM intracellular Na⁺. Decreasing extracellular permeant ion concentration decreases outward Na⁺ current at positive voltages while increasing the driving force for the current. This anomalous effect of permeant ion concentration, especially obvious in a mutant (F1485Q) in which fast inactivation is partially abolished, is due to an alteration of open probability. The effect is only observed when a highly permeant cation (Na⁺, Li⁺, or hydrazinium) is substituted for a relatively impermeant cation (K⁺, Rb⁺, Cs⁺, N -methylglucamine, Tris, choline, or tetramethylammonium). With high concentrations of extracellular permeant cations, the peak open probability of Na⁺ channels increases with depolarization and then saturates at positive voltages. By contrast, with low concentrations of permeant ions, the open probability reaches a maximum at approximately 0 mV and then decreases with further depolarization. There is little effect of permeant ion concentration on activation kinetics at depolarized voltages. Furthermore, the lowered open probability caused by a brief depolarization to +60 mV recovers within 5 ms upon repolarization to −140 mV, indicative of a gating process with rapid kinetics. Tail currents at reduced temperatures reveal the rapid onset of this gating process during a large depolarization. A large depolarization may drive a permeant cation out of a site within the extracellular mouth of the pore, reducing the efficiency with which the channel opens.     

Effect of Alkali Metal Cations on Slow Inactivation of Cardiac Na+ Channels

Human heart Na⁺ channels were expressed transiently in both mammalian cells and Xenopus oocytes, and Na⁺ currents measured using 150 mM intracellular Na⁺. The kinetics of decaying outward Na⁺ current in response to 1-s depolarizations in the F1485Q mutant depends on the predominant cation in the extracellular solution, suggesting an effect on slow inactivation. The decay rate is lower for the alkali metal cations Li⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Rb⁺, and Cs⁺ than for the organic cations Tris, tetramethylammonium, N-methylglucamine, and choline. In whole cell recordings, raising [Na⁺]_o from 10 to 150 mM increases the rate of recovery from slow inactivation at −140 mV, decreases the rate of slow inactivation at relatively depolarized voltages, and shifts steady-state slow inactivation in a depolarized direction. Single channel recordings of F1485Q show a decrease in the number of blank (i.e., null) records when [Na⁺]_o is increased. Significant clustering of blank records when depolarizing at a frequency of 0.5 Hz suggests that periods of inactivity represent the sojourn of a channel in a slow-inactivated state. Examination of the single channel kinetics at +60 mV during 90-ms depolarizations shows that neither open time, closed time, nor first latency is significantly affected by [Na⁺]_o. However raising [Na⁺]_o decreases the duration of the last closed interval terminated by the end of the depolarization, leading to an increased number of openings at the depolarized voltage. Analysis of single channel data indicates that at a depolarized voltage a single rate constant for entry into a slow-inactivated state is reduced in high [Na⁺]_o, suggesting that the binding of an alkali metal cation, perhaps in the ion-conducting pore, inhibits the closing of the slow inactivation gate.     

应用线性硅电极阵列检测海马场电位和单细胞动作电位

近年来,硅材料微电极阵列发展迅速,μ为研究大脑神经细胞活动的时空特性提供了理想的手段.考察了线性硅材料微电极阵列在神经细胞电位检测中的稳定性,以及对于单细胞动作电位检测的有效性.实验结果表明,在麻醉大鼠海马CA1区场电位记录中,上下移动记录微电极200μm,对于正向和反向诱发电位的记录几乎没有影响,说明,线性微电极阵列对于神经细胞的损伤很小,检测性能稳定.电极阵列上处于细胞胞体层的测量点可以有效地记录到CA1神经细胞的动作电位发放,同一记录点上可以清楚地分辨出数个不同神经细胞的发放电位.实验结果显示了硅电极阵列操作简便、检测信号稳定和获取信息多等特点,对于开展微电极阵列应用研究的工作人员具有借鉴作用.