Imaging Action Potentials with Calcium Indicators
Adapted from Imaging in Neuroscience (ed. Helmchen and Konnerth). CSHL Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2011.INTRODUCTION
The understanding of neuronal circuits has been greatly advanced by the ability to simultaneously image action-potential generation within large populations of neurons. This protocol describes bulk loading of brain slices with acetoxymethyl (AM) ester calcium indicators to monitor action-potential activity in functional neuronal circuits. The imaging of calcium influx into neurons provides an indirect but accurate measure of action-potential generation within individual neurons. The key advantage of the technique is that it allows the researcher to densely sample the activity of a large population of neurons with single-cell resolution.
- © 2011 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
