Overview of Electrophysiology

Abstract This unit provides an overview of the electrophysiological techniques used to determine the physiological and/or pharmacological properties of membrane ion channels at the single‐cell level. Only those techniques that measure potential changes at the transmembrane and membrane levels are discussed. The basics of current‐clamp recording, voltage‐clamp recording, and patch‐clamp procedures are presented along with their advantages and disadvantages. Additional topics are discussed with regard to their relation to electrophysiological measurements, such as membrane properties, ion selectivity, time resolution, ligand‐gated ion channels (LGICs), voltage‐dependent channels, and channel modulation and interactions. Also included is a discussion the electrophysiological properties of seven‐transmembrane‐domain receptors. This unit provides an overview of the electrophysiological techniques used to determine the physiological and/or pharmacologic of ion channels.