Measuring kinetics of synaptic current

Abstract

Obtaining an accurate measurement of receptor kinetics is best done using single-channel recordings. However, single channel recordings require activation of channels directly under the patch pipette using either cell-attached patches or inside-out patches, which is difficult when sampling synaptic receptors. In addition, single-channel recordings require receptor activation via exogenously applied agonists. Consequently, receptor activation is elicited by exogenous agonists instead of endogenous neurotransmitters. In order to determine the kinetics of synaptic receptors under physiological environment, the synaptic current can be isolated using the methods described in Chap. 8 and the kinetics can be measured using the approaches described in this chapter.