Introduction to Electrophysiological Methods and Instrumentation

Introduction to Electrophysiological Methods and Instrumentation covers all topics of interest to electrophysiologists, neuroscientists and neurophysiologists, from the reliable penetration of cells, the behavior and function of the equipment, to the mathematical tools available for analyzing data. It discusses the pros and cons of techniques and methods used in electrophysiology and how to avoid pitfalls. Although the basics of electrophysiological techniques remain the principal purpose of this second edition, it now integrates several current developments including, amongst others, automated recording for high throughput screening and multimodal recordings to correlate electrical activity with other physiological parameters that are often collected by optical means. A discussion on signal transducers and relevant aspects of microscopy is also included. Together this book provides the electrophysiologist with the tools needed to understand his or her equipment and the acquisitions and analysis of low-voltage biological signals.

Introduces possibilities and solutions, along with the problems, pitfalls, and artefacts of equipment and electrodesDiscusses the particulars of recording from brain tissue slices, oocytes, and planar bilayersDescribes optical methods pertinent to electrophysiological practicePresents the fundamentals of signal processing of analogue signals, spike trains, and single channel recordings as well as procedures for signal recording and processingIncludes appendices on electrical safety and foundations of useful mathematical tools

1. Electrical Quantities and Their Relations
2. Electrical and Electronic Circuits; Measurements
3. Electronic Devices
4. Electronic and Electrophysiological Instrumentation
5. Electro(de) Chemistry
6. Volume Conduction: Electric Fields in Electrolyte Solutions
7. The Analysis Toolkit
8. Recording of Electrophysiological Signals
9. Analysis of Electrophysiological Signals
10. Microscopy and Optical Methods in Electrophysiology