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Monitoring Extracellular Molecules in Neuroscience by In Vivo Electrochemistry: Methodological Considerations and Biological Applications

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In Vivo Neuropharmacology and Neurophysiology

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 121))

Abstract

Brain neuronal communication occurs by the exocytotic release of neurotransmitters into synaptic clefts and the surrounding extracellular fluid. Before the 1970s, radioimmunoassay was the only available technique with the requisite sensitivity to measure the small chemical concentrations produced by neurotransmitter release. More than 40 years ago, Ralph Adams and his colleagues saw the value of electrochemical methods for the study of oxidizable neurotransmitters, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin and their metabolites. Today, electrochemical techniques are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from the resolution of single exocytotic events from single cells to monitoring neurochemical fluctuations in awake, behaving animals.

This chapter provides a basic overview of the principles underlying voltammetric and amperometric methods, the most commonly used electrochemical techniques, and the general application of these methods to the study of neurotransmission, including those developments performed in the author’s laboratory, giving examples of experiments using these methods. The first part of the chapter is dedicated to slow voltammetric methods and the improvement developed by our group to overcome its technical limitations. It follows a description of rapid methods developed, by our group, to monitor the monoamines overflow evoked by electrical stimulations of the medial forebrain bundle, such as fast scan cyclic voltammetry and fast differential multi-pulse amperometry.

Furthermore, we discuss how to modify a carbon-fiber electrode to build a selective microsensor for in vivo measurement of nitric oxide. In the second part of the chapter, we highlight several applications of the described methods, with particular emphasis on the advantages and drawbacks of methods described in the chapter.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the grant INNPACTO-MINECO (IPT-2012-0961-300000), Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (TIN2011-28146).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Physiology Section, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, University of La Laguna, Campus de Ofra s/n, 38071, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    José Luis González-Mora, Pedro Salazar & Manuel Mas

  2. Neurochemistry and Neuroimaging Group, Laboratory of Sensors, Biosensors and Materials, School of Health Sciences, University of La Laguna, Campus de Ofra s/n, 38071, La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain

    José Luis González-Mora, Pedro Salazar, Miriam Martín & Manuel Mas

Authors
  1. José Luis González-Mora
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  2. Pedro Salazar
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  3. Miriam Martín
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  4. Manuel Mas
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Correspondence to José Luis González-Mora .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria

    Athineos Philippu

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González-Mora, J.L., Salazar, P., Martín, M., Mas, M. (2017). Monitoring Extracellular Molecules in Neuroscience by In Vivo Electrochemistry: Methodological Considerations and Biological Applications. In: Philippu, A. (eds) In Vivo Neuropharmacology and Neurophysiology. Neuromethods, vol 121. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6490-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-6490-1_9

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