The patch clamp technique is an electrophysiological technique that enables to study the electrical properties of living cells. This method allows to record the ionic currents flowing across the cell membrane (measured in voltage clamp configuration) or changes in membrane potential (voltage, measured in current clamp configuration).
The electrophysiology rig is optimized for simultaneous patch clamp recordings from multiple neurons (1-4) in slices of brain tissue. Recording multiple cells simultaneously improves the yield of the experiment as well as enables to study properties of communication between cells (synaptic transmission). The rig is equipped with an upright microscope to ensure that suitable cells can be identified and targeted under visual control. Acquisition of electrophysiological data is obtained through a HEKA EPC 10 USB Quadro amplifier, which allows to independently control and record activity from up to four cells simultaneously. The patch clamp rig is further equipped with a laser system containing three different wavelength lasers (375 nm, 473 nm and 594 nm), which enables to combine patch clamp electrophysiological recordings with various optical stimulation techniques. In such experiments, cellular activity can be manipulated by using light-sensitive ligands such as caged neurotransmitters or light-gated ion channels.
