Preclinical Slice Electrophysiology Services

Our Preclinical Slice Electrophysiology Services

Expert LTP, LTD, and Whole-Cell Patch Clamp Services

PsychoGenics offers expert ex vivo electrophysiology services, enabling the precise measurement of neuronal activity in acutely prepared brain slices. Through the examination of synaptic currents and membrane potentials, you gain valuable insights into the mechanisms of your drug’s action. 

Directly visualizing the structure of the brain slice enables precise placement of stimulation and recording electrodes near or within the desired cells. Furthermore, the absence of the blood-brain barrier in this ex vivo setup facilitates direct access to compounds, providing a detailed picture of how your drug works.

Long-term potentiation is a dynamic mechanism that leads to the enhanced functional strength of synaptic connections, persisting for hours or more. It is widely considered to be a cellular and molecular correlate of memory, contributing to various cognitive processes. Therefore, LTP can be seen as a partial component underlying memory and cognition. 

PsychoGenics offers numerous models of neurodegenerative, neurodevelopmental, and mental illness, demonstrating impairments in both cognitive and memory-related behaviors, as well as LTP deficits. 

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Long-term depression is a type of long-lasting synaptic plasticity that plays a crucial role in dynamically regulating synaptic strength and is involved in memory and cognitive processes. Various transgenic models, including the Fmr1 mouse model of Fragile X syndrome, demonstrate deficits in LTD. 

In particular, Fmr1 mouse models exhibit an early enhancement of LTD induced by the mGluR agonist (DHPG) during the postnatal period of 15-21 days. However, this enhancement can be effectively restored by administering a 5-HT1A agonist. PsychoGenics has vast experience in this important preclinical drug development area. 

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PsychoGenics offers high-quality patch clamp electrophysiology services. This is a widely employed technique utilized in ex vivo or tissue culture preparations to manipulate the membrane voltage of individual cells and measure two key aspects: 

  1. The flow of ionic currents across the cell membrane 
  2. Variations in membrane potential 

The neuronal membrane allows current flow through voltage-gated ion channels present in the cell body and dendrites, as well as via ligand-gated ion channels concentrated at post-synaptic sites. By implementing suitable pharmacological inhibitors, these currents can be precisely isolated and accurately quantified. 

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