Artifactual voltage response recorded from hair cells with patch-clamp amplifiers

Patch-clamp amplifiers (PCAs) are commonly used to characterize voltage- and current-clamp responses in the same cell. However, the cell membrane voltage response can be severely distorted by PCAs working in the current-clamp mode. Here we compare the voltage response of pigeon semicircular canal ha...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNeuroreport Vol. 10; no. 9; p. 1837
Main Authors Masetto, S, Weng, T, Valli, P, Correia, M J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 23.06.1999
Subjects
Animals
Columbidae
Hair Cells, Vestibular - physiology
Membrane Potentials - physiology
Microelectrodes
Patch-Clamp Techniques - instrumentation
Patch-Clamp Techniques - standards
Semicircular Canals - cytology
Non-programmatic
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Summary:Patch-clamp amplifiers (PCAs) are commonly used to characterize voltage- and current-clamp responses in the same cell. However, the cell membrane voltage response can be severely distorted by PCAs working in the current-clamp mode. Here we compare the voltage response of pigeon semicircular canal hair cells in situ, recorded with two different PCAs, and with a classic microelectrode bridge amplifier (BA). We found that the voltage response of hair cells recorded with PCAs differed significantly from that recorded with the BA. The true hair cell membrane voltage response to positive current steps was characterized by a strongly damped oscillation, whose frequency and duration depended on hair cell location in the sensory crista ampullaris.
ISSN:0959-4965
DOI:10.1097/00001756-199906230-00007