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Whole-Cell Patch-Clamp Recordings in Freely Moving Animals

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Patch-Clamp Methods and Protocols

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1183))

Abstract

The patch-clamp technique and the whole-cell measurements derived from it have greatly advanced our understanding of the coding properties of individual neurons by allowing for a detailed analysis of their excitatory/inhibitory synaptic inputs, intrinsic electrical properties, and morphology. Because such measurements require a high level of mechanical stability they have for a long time been limited to in vitro and anesthetized preparations. Recently, however, a considerable amount of effort has been devoted to extending these techniques to awake restrained/head-fixed preparations allowing for the study of the input–output functions of neurons during behavior. In this chapter we describe a technique extending patch-clamp recordings to awake animals free to explore their environments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by an EMBO Long Term Fellowship and HHMI (to A. K. L.); a Human Frontier Science Program Long Term Fellowship, INSERM, Agence Nationale de la Recherche (grant ANR-09-BLAN-0259-01 and ANR-10-R11014AA), Région PACA (project EPIVIRT), A*MIDEX project (ANR-11-IDEX-0001-02) funded by the «Investissements d’Avenir» French Government program (to J.E.); Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, the Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, Förderkennzeichen 01GQ1001A), NeuroCure, a European Research Council grant, and the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the DFG (to M.B).

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Janelia Farm Research Campus, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 19700 Helix Drive, Ashburn, VA, 20147, USA

      Albert K. Lee

    2. Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM U901), Marseille, France

      Jérôme Epsztein

    3. Aix-Marseille University, Marseille, France

      Jérôme Epsztein

    4. Institut de Neurobiologie de la Méditerranée (INMED), Parc Scientifique de Luminy, BP.13, 163 Route de Luminy, Marseille Cedex 09, 13273, France

      Jérôme Epsztein

    5. Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, Berlin, 10115, Germany

      Michael Brecht

    6. Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany

      Michael Brecht

    Authors
    1. Albert K. Lee
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    2. Jérôme Epsztein
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    3. Michael Brecht
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    Corresponding authors

    Correspondence to Albert K. Lee , Jérôme Epsztein or Michael Brecht .

    Editor information

    Editors and Affiliations

    1. Department of Translational Bioscience, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

      Marzia Martina

    2. Dept of Neuroscience & Brain Technologies, Italian Institute of Technology, Genoa, Italy

      Stefano Taverna

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    Lee, A.K., Epsztein, J., Brecht, M. (2014). Whole-Cell Patch-Clamp Recordings in Freely Moving Animals. In: Martina, M., Taverna, S. (eds) Patch-Clamp Methods and Protocols. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1183. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1096-0_17

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1096-0_17

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    • Publisher Name: Humana Press, New York, NY

    • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-1095-3

    • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-1096-0

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