PUBLICATION

Chapter 8 - Physiological recordings from zebrafish lateral-line hair cells and afferent neurons

Authors
Trapani, J.G., and Nicolson, T.
ID
ZDB-PUB-101201-30
Date
2010
Source
Methods in cell biology   100: 219-231 (Chapter)
Registered Authors
Nicolson, Teresa, Trapani, Josef
Keywords
none
MeSH Terms
  • Animals
  • Electrophysiology/methods*
  • Hair Cells, Auditory/physiology
  • Humans
  • Lateral Line System/cytology*
  • Mechanoreceptors/physiology
  • Mechanotransduction, Cellular
  • Neurons/physiology*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Zebrafish*
PubMed
21111219 Full text @ Meth. Cell. Biol.
Abstract
Sensory signal transduction, the process by which the features of external stimuli are encoded into action potentials, is a complex process that is not fully understood. In fish and amphibia, the lateral-line organ detects water movement and vibration and is critical for schooling behavior and the detection of predators and prey. The lateral-line system in zebrafish serves as an ideal platform to examine encoding of stimuli by sensory hair cells. Here, we describe methods for recording hair-cell microphonics and activity of afferent neurons using intact zebrafish larvae. The recordings are performed by immobilizing and mounting larvae for optimal stimulation of lateral-line hair cells. Hair cells are stimulated with a pressure-controlled water jet and a recording electrode is positioned next to the site of mechanotransduction in order to record microphonics-extracellular voltage changes due to currents through hair-cell mechanotransduction channels. Another readout of the hair-cell activity is obtained by recording action currents from single afferent neurons in response to water-jet stimulation of innervated hair cells. When combined, these techniques make it possible to probe the function of the lateral-line sensory system in an intact zebrafish using controlled, repeatable, physiological stimuli.
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