Synonyms
Measurement of neuronal activity
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...
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Harvey, V.L., Dickenson, A.H. (2014). Extracellular Recording. In: Stolerman, I., Price, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_290-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_290-2
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