Electrophysiological Characteristics Of Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptor In Rat Medial Vestibular Nucleus Neurons By Visual Patch Clamp Technique

【Objective】To introduce the visual patch clamp whole-cell recording technique carefully and study the properties and fuctional significance of muscarinic receptor-mediated currents in rat medial vestibular nucleus neurons.【Methods】By combining infrared differential interference contrast(IR-DIC) technique and CCD-Camera system with visual patch clamp whole-cell recording technique, muscarinic receptor-mediated currents in rat MVNn were observed and analyzed.【Results】Visual patch clamp technique can be used to make direct localization and health screening exactly. In MVNn, the activation of muscarinic cholinergic receptors leads to a decrease in a voltage-insensitive K+ current,which corresponds to the leak K+ current. 【Conclusion】Visual patch clamp technique, better than blind patch clamp technique, can improve the success of sealing process. By the analysis of muscarinic receptor-mediated currents, the data provide evidence that muscarinic cholinergic mechanisms play a prominent role in the modulation of the excitability of MVNn and also offer a new idea for the efficacy of anticholinergic drugs.