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Updated: Aug 8, 2026

Voltage-sensitive Dye Recording from Axons, Dendrites and Dendritic Spines of Individual Neurons in Brain Slices
Published on: November 29, 2012
Imaging membrane potential with voltage-sensitive dyes
M Zochowski1, M Wachowiak, C X Falk
1Department of Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, Connecticut 06520, USA. mrz@fred.med.yale.edu
Abstract:
Membrane potential can be measured optically using a variety of molecular probes. These measurements can be useful in studying function at the level of an individual cell, for determining how groups of neurons generate a behavior, and for studying the correlated behavior of populations of neurons. Examples of the three kinds of measurements are presented. The signals obtained from these measurements are generally small. Methodological considerations necessary to optimize the resulting signal-to-noise ratio are discussed.
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