Synonyms
Definition
Extracellular recordings are used to monitor neuronal activity from outside the cell. It provides a means to measure patterns of action potentials within many areas of the peripheral and central nervous systems. In addition, massed activity can also be recorded. The effects of pathology and drugs can be investigated over extended time-courses using this technique.
Principles and Role in Psychopharmacology
Principles of Extracellular Recording
Richard Caton (1842–1926), who performed electroencephalography (EEG) from the surface of living brains in animals, first discovered the electrical nature of the brain (Caton 1875). These electrical impulses, in the form of action potentials, underlie the information processing capabilities of the central nervous system (CNS). The pattern, frequency, and coding of this activity allows messages to be transferred from one area to another of the CNS. Extracellular recordings represent a very...
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alvarez de Toledo G, Fernández-Chacón R, Fernández JM (1993) Release of secretory products during transient vesicle fusion. Nature 363(6429):554–558
Bliss T, Lømo T (1973) Long-lasting potentiation of synaptic transmission in the dentate area of the anaesthetized rabbit following stimulation of the perforant path. J Physiol 232(2):331–356
Caton R (1875) The electric currents of the brain. Br Med J 2:278
Chow RH, von Rüden L, Neher E (1992) Delay in vesicle fusion revealed by electrochemical monitoring of single secretory events in adrenal chromaffin cells. Nature 356(6364):60–63
Neher E (1993) Cell Physiology. Secretion without full fusion. Nature 363(6429):497–498
O'Keefe J, Dostrovsky J (1971) The hippocampus as a spatial map. Preliminary evidence from unit activity in the freely-moving rat. Brain Res 34:171–175
Suzuki R, Morcuende S, Webber M, Hunt SP, Dickenson AH (2002 Dec) Superficial NK1-expressing neurons control spinal excitability through activation of descending pathways. Nat Neurosci 5(12):1319–1326
Urch CE, Dickenson AH (2003) In vivo single unit extracellular recordings from spinal cord neurones of rats. Brain Res Brain Res Protoc 12(1):26–34
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2010 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this entry
Cite this entry
Harvey, V.L., Dickenson, A.H. (2010). Extracellular Recording. In: Stolerman, I.P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_290
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_290
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-68698-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-68706-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences