Electrophysiology methods

A number of electrophysiological techniques available can be used to detect and/or assess neurotoxicity. These techniques can be divided into 

Assay system End point Standards (agonist/antagonist) References 

Rat Ileum General activity None (side-spectrum assay for intrinsic activity) 15 

Deferens nicotinic or muscarinic Methacholine / hexamethonium Methacholine/atropine  

Rat Uterus Kinin receptors Brady kinin / none 26 

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Clinical uses of antiarrhythmics have been restricted after CAST [2] due to their proarrhythmic risk, and preference is given to electrophysiological methods. 

Bures, J., M. Petran, and J. Zachar, Electrophysiological Methods in Biological Research, Academic Press, New York, 1967. 

Takeuchi, Y. and Koike, Y. (1985). Electrophysiological methods for the in vivo assessment of neurotoxicology. In Neurotoxicology. Edited by (Blum, K. and Manzo, L., (Eds.) Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 613-629. 

Clear description of the electrophysiological methods used to measure the activity of single ion channels, by the Nobel Prize-winning developers of this technique. 

Despite their versatility, electrophysiological methods typically report neurotransmitter release from a population of synapses or release sites. In most cases, unitary quantal transmission can only be detected using recordings of spontaneous neurotransmission or under settings that activate a very small number of synapses. Moreover, these methods usually provide little or no spatial information about the origin of release. Optical experiments using fluorescent probes, on the other hand, report... 

Kopac, M.J. Micromanipulators. Principles of design, operation, and application. In Physical Techniques in Biological Research. Vol. V. Electrophysiological Methods, Part A. pp. 191-233. Academic Press, New York 1964. 

Cavalie A, Grantyn R, Lux HD (1993) Fabrication of patch clamp pipettes. In Kettenmann H, Grantyn R (eds) Practical Electrophysiological Methods. Wiley and Sons, New York, pp 235-240... 

Brorson L, Wennerblom B. Electrophysiological methods in assessing cardiac effects of the tricyclic antidepressant imipramine. Acta Med Scand 1978 203(5) 429-32. 

The sex attractants of Bombyx and Porthetria (and probably those of most Lepidoptera as well as of insects of other orders) are received by olfactory receptors of the male antennae 38), Removal of one male antenna does not prevent detection of the sex scent, but complete removal of both antennae results in loss of such reception. Schneider and coworkers 35, 36) have taken advantage of this antennal reception in developing an electrophysiological method for the bioassay of insect sex attractants which is approximately 1000 times more sensitive than any known behavioral method. They found that stimulation of the sensory cells in the male antenna by exposure to the female sex scent set up a local electrical potential (receptor potential) %hose amplitude is dependent upon the intensity of the stimulant. The... 

Shirao, Y.. and Kawasaki, K. (1995). Retinal toxicology study using electrophysiological methods in rabbits. In Oaitar Toxicology (J. Weisse. Ed.), pp. 27-37. Plenum. New York. 

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