A small volume chamber for electrical recording from submerged brain slices and a pulse-free medium supply system...

A small volume chamber for recording from submerged brain slices is described. In the chamber, the slice is covered on all sides by a thin layer of moving medium. The chamber is simple and easy to construct. The small volume of the chamber allows fast exchange of the medium solution surrounding the slice and reduces the complications induced by long time exposure of slices to certain drugs (eg. desensitization). Along with this small volume chamber, a medium supply system is also described, which is composed of a peristaltic pump and a pulse dampener. This pulse-free medium supply system allows cells to be held for up to 8 h with solution changes as frequently as every 10-20 min.