
Core technical expertise
Our expertise is centered on electrophysiology and complemented by other state of the art techniques to study in detail the mechanisms of action of your compounds.
Patch-clamp
Whole-cell recordings allow a precise measurement of a single cell electrical activity by detecting sub-millisecond variations in membrane potential
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Extremely precise data on single cell physiology.
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It can be used in any brain or spinal cord structure and allows targeted recordings of specific cell types.
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Allow targeted pre or post synaptic manipulations specifically.
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Essential when studying the mechanisms of action and pharmacological profile of a compound.
Extracellular recordings
Field recordings are used to extracellularly record the activity of a population of neurons, or field potentials.
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Several localized neuronal populations are recorded simultaneously in a given slice.
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Faster than patch-clamp, allows for a quick screening of several compounds or doses at mid-throughput data production.
Calcium imaging
Calcium imaging can be combined to extra- or intra-cellular recordings or be employed alone. This approach measures the activity of individual cells (e.g. expressing a calcium-dependent fluorescent dye) in culture or in slices via the identification of calcium transients. Calcium is indeed a hallmark of neuronal activity as neurotransmitter release requires significant increase in intracellular calcium levels.
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Can be used in slices or in cultures and combined to extracellular recordings or patch-clamp
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Complementary approach to determine the effect of test compounds on neuronal activity and calcium channels in multiple locations simultaneously
Other techniques
Our capabilities include histology/immunochemistry and pharmacology as well as optogenetics combined with electrophysiology. Manipulations can be extracellular or intracellular (when using patch-clamp).
Depending on the context, we can perform recordings on specific transgenic animal models and employ acute or chronic compound administration.