Whole-cell Currents Induced by Puff Application of GABA in Brain Slices

Pharmacological administration is commonly used when conducting whole-cell patch-clamp recording in brain slices. One of the best methods of drug application during electrophysiological recording is the puff technique, which can be used to study the effect of pharmacological reagents on neuronal activities in brain slices. The greatest advantage of puff application is that the drug concentration around the recording site increases rapidly, thus preventing desensitization of membrane receptors. Successful use of puff application involves careful attention to the following elements: the concentration of the drug, the parameters of the puff micropipette, the distance between the tip of a puff micropipette and the neuron recorded, and the duration and pressure driving the puff (pounds per square inch, psi). This article describes a step-by-step procedure for recording whole-cell currents induced by puffing gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) onto a neuron of a prefrontal cortical slice. Notably, the same procedure can be applied with minor modifications to other brain areas such as the hippocampus and the striatum, and to different preparations, such as cell cultures.