Opiates, opioid peptides and single neurones.

The use of electrophysiological techniques to study the mechanisms of action of opiates has three distinct advantages. In the first place, they measure directly the important functional parameter of the nervous system - the electrical activity of single neurones. Second, they have a high resolution in time which facilitates arguing from effect to cause. Third, they have a high resolution in space because single neurones, or single loci on the same neurone, can be examined selectively. The present review deals exclusively with recordings at the level of the single neurone.