A simple technique for constructing ‘piggy-back’ multibarrel microelectrodes

doi:10.1016/0013-4694(80)90313-2

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

Volume 48, Issue 2, February 1980, Pages 249-251

https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-4694(80)90313-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

A method is described for the construction of a 6-barrel electrode, enabling intra- or extracellular recording from a protruding barrel and iontophoretic ejection from the remaining 5 barrels. This method enables each laboratory to employ the recording electrode most suitable for its research. The supplies needed for the assembly of the 6-barrel electrodes are readily available and economical. The assembly of this ‘piggy-back’ electrode requires, with a minimal amount of practice, only 10–15 min.

Résumé

Les auteurs décrivent une méthode permettant de construire une électrode à 6 barrils, permettant l'enregistrement intra- et extracellulaire à partir d'un barril en saillie et l'éjection iontophorétique à partir de 5 barrils restant. Cette méthode permet à tout laboratoire d'utiliser l'électrode d'enregistrement la plus adéquate pour ses recherches. Les matériaux nécessaires pour assembler les électrodes à 6 barrils sont aisément disponibles et de prix modérés. L'assemblage de cette électrode ‘piggy-back’ nécessite, à partir d'un apprentissage minime, 10–15 min seulement.

References (6)

B. Carette
A new method of manufacturing multi-barrelled micropipettes with projecting recording barrel
Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.
(1978)
D.M. Caspary et al.
Effects of microiontophoretically applied glycine and GABa on neuronal response patterns in the cochlear nuclei
Brain Res.
(1979)
D.R. Curtis
A method for assembly of ‘parallel’ micropipettes
Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.
(1968)

There are more references available in the full text version of this article.

Cited by (135)

Serotonin modulates response properties of neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus of the mouse
2017, Hearing Research
Citation Excerpt :
Experimental sessions lasted no more than four hours, and each animal was used in one to three recording sessions separated by at least one day. Recordings and application of pharmacologic agents were conducted using piggy-back electrodes (Havey and Caspary, 1980) made by gluing a single-barrel recording pipette onto a three-barreled glass pipette (10–15 μm total tip diameter), such that the tip of the recording pipette extended 10–15 μm beyond the tip of the multibarrel pipette. The recording pipette (1–2 μm tip diameter) was filled with 1 M NaCl solution, which yielded a pipette impedance of 15–30 MΩ.
The neurochemical serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) is involved in a variety of behavioral functions including arousal, reward, and attention, and has a role in several complex disorders of the brain. In the auditory system, 5-HT fibers innervate a number of subcortical nuclei, yet the modulatory role of 5-HT in nearly all of these areas remains poorly understood. In this study, we examined spiking activity of neurons in the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) following iontophoretic application of 5-HT. The DCN is an early site in the auditory pathway that receives dense 5-HT fiber input from the raphe nuclei and has been implicated in the generation of auditory disorders marked by neuronal hyperexcitability. Recordings from the DCN in awake mice demonstrated that iontophoretic application of 5-HT had heterogeneous effects on spiking rate, spike timing, and evoked spiking threshold. We found that 56% of neurons exhibited increases in spiking rate during 5-HT delivery, while 22% had decreases in rate and the remaining neurons had no change. These changes were similar for spontaneous and evoked spiking and were typically accompanied by changes in spike timing. Spiking increases were associated with lower first spike latencies and jitter, while decreases in spiking generally had opposing effects on spike timing. Cases in which 5-HT application resulted in increased spiking also exhibited lower thresholds compared to the control condition, while cases of decreased spiking had no threshold change. We also found that the 5-HT₂ receptor subtype likely has a role in mediating increased excitability. Our results demonstrate that 5-HT can modulate activity in the DCN of awake animals and that it primarily acts to increase neuronal excitability, in contrast to other auditory regions where it largely has a suppressive role. Modulation of DCN function by 5-HT has implications for auditory processing in both normal hearing and disordered states.
Novel dual microelectrode probe for the simultaneous visualization of local Zn<sup>2+</sup> and pH distributions in galvanic corrosion processes
2017, Corrosion Science
Novel dual potentiometric microsensor probe has been developed for the simultaneous detection of Zn²⁺ concentration and pH distributions in the Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy investigation of corroding galvanized steel. The individual sensors show nearly theoretical behavior over a wide concentration range. The applicability of this probe is first demonstrated on a Fe-Zn galvanic couple, as it shows excellent performance in these simultaneous model experiments. In addition, linear scans recorded over a cut edge of coated galvanized steel evidence the complementary information gathered on the electrochemical behavior of the corroding sample, and adumbrates promising and feasible applications of multi-barrel microelectrodes in corrosion research.
Duration sensitivity of neurons in the primary auditory cortex of albino mouse
2016, Hearing Research
Citation Excerpt :
Duration tuning curves were measured before and during bicuculline application. Piggy-back multi-barrel electrodes were constructed for the iontophoretic application of bicuculline (Havey and Caspary, 1980; Lu et al., 1998; Wang et al., 2007). Briefly, a three-barrel electrode (tip: 10–15 μm) was “piggy-backed” on a 2 M NaCl single-barrel electrode (tip: less than 1 μm, used for recording).
Many neurons in the central auditory system of a number of species have been found to be sensitive to the duration of sound stimuli. While previous studies have shown that γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic inhibitory input is important for duration sensitivity in the inferior colliculus (IC), it is still unknown whether (GABA)-ergic inhibitory input plays an important role in generating duration sensitivity in the cortex. Using free-field sound stimulation and in vivo extracellular recording, we investigated duration sensitivity in primary auditory cortical (AI) neurons of the Nembutal anesthetized albino mouse (Mus musculus, Km) and examined the effect of the GABA_A receptor antagonist bicuculline on AI neuron duration sensitivity. A total of 63 duration tuning curves were measured in AI neurons. Of these, 44% (28/63) exhibited duration sensitive responses, while 43% (27/63) lacked duration sensitivity. The remaining 13% (8/63) exhibited long-pass properties likely reflecting both duration sensitive and insensitive features. We found that duration sensitive neurons had shorter first spike latency (FSL) and longer firing duration (FD) when stimulated with best duration (p < 0.05), while duration insensitive neurons had invariable FSL and FD at different sound durations (p > 0.05). Furthermore, 60% (6/10) of duration sensitive neurons and 75% (3/4) long-pass neurons lost duration sensitivity following bicuculline application. Taken together, our results show that cortical neurons in the albino mouse are sensitive to sound duration, and that GABAergic inhibition may play an important role in the formation of de novo duration sensitivity in AI. The possible mechanism and behavioral significance of duration sensitivity in AI neurons is discussed.
Combining pharmacology and whole-cell patch recording from CNS neurons, in vivo
2013, Journal of Neuroscience Methods
Whole-cell patch neurophysiology and pharmacological manipulations have provided unprecedented insight into the functions of central neurons, but their combined use has been largely restricted to in vitro preparations. We describe a method for performing whole-cell patch recording and focal application of pharmacological agents in vivo. A key feature of this technique involves iontophoresis of glutamate to establish proximity of drug and recording pipettes. We show data from iontophoresis of glutamate during extracellular and whole-cell recordings made in vivo from auditory neurons in the midbrain of the leopard frog, Rana pipiens, and the effects of blocking GABA_A receptors while making a whole-cell recording. This methodology should accelerate our understanding of the roles of particular neurotransmitter systems in normal and pathological conditions, and facilitate investigation of the in vivo effects of drugs and the mechanisms underlying computations.
Selectivity and persistent firing responses to social vocalizations in the basolateral amygdala
2012, Neuroscience
This study examined responsiveness to acoustic stimuli among neurons of the basolateral amygdala. While recording from single neurons in awake mustached bats (Pteronotus parnellii), we presented a wide range of acoustic stimuli including tonal, noise, and vocal signals. While many neurons displayed phasic or sustained responses locked to effective auditory stimuli, the majority of neurons (n = 58) displayed a persistent excitatory discharge that lasted well beyond stimulus duration and filled the interval between successive stimuli. Persistent firing usually began seconds (median value, 5.4 s) after the initiation of a train of repeated stimuli and lasted, in the majority of neurons, for at least 2 min after the end of the stimulus train. Auditory-responsive amygdalar neurons were generally excited by one stimulus or very few stimuli. Most neurons did not respond well to synthetic stimuli including tones, noise bursts or frequency-modulated sweeps, but instead responded only to vocal stimuli (82 of 87 neurons). Furthermore, most neurons were highly selective among vocal stimuli. On average, neurons responded to 1.7 of 15 different syllables or syllable sequences. The largest percentage of neurons responded to a hiss-like rectangular broadband noise burst (rBNB) call associated with aggressive interactions. Responsiveness to effective vocal stimuli was reduced or eliminated when the spectrotemporal features of the stimuli were altered in a subset of neurons. Chemical activation of the medial geniculate body (MG) increased both background and evoked firing. Among 39 histologically localized recording sites, we saw no evidence of topographic organization in terms of temporal response pattern, habituation, or the affect of calls to which neurons responded. Overall, these studies demonstrate that amygdalar neurons in the mustached bat show high selectivity to vocal stimuli, and suggest that persistent firing may be an important feature of amygdalar responses to social vocalizations.
Triple-Barrel Ultramicroelectrodes for Multipurpose, Submilliliter Electroanalysis
2023, Analytical Chemistry

View all citing articles on Scopus

^☆: Supported by a grant from the Deafness Research Foundation and SIU-SM CRC funds.

²: The authors wish to thank Dr. C. Faingold and W. Hoffmann for their critical comments. We also thank D. Smith for typing the manuscript and Biomedical Communications for preparing the figures.

View full text

Technical contributionA simple technique for constructing ‘piggy-back’ multibarrel microelectrodesTechnique simple de construction de microélectrodes à barrils multiples ‘piggy-back’☆

Abstract

Résumé

Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

Brain Res.

Electroenceph. clin. Neurophysiol.

Technical contribution
A simple technique for constructing ‘piggy-back’ multibarrel microelectrodesTechnique simple de construction de microélectrodes à barrils multiples ‘piggy-back’☆