Electrophysiologic assessment of receptor changes following chronic drug treatment

Electrophysiological techniques offer a direct cellular approach to questions of neurotransmitter receptor-drug interaction. Although these methods demand considerable technical expertise and advanced instrumentation, as well as satisfaction of certain biological and pharmacological provisos, they are capable of providing detailed information on the functional status of receptors not readily attained from studies on disrupted cell systems. The development of improved methods for the quantitative comparison of changes in transmitter responsiveness after chronic experimental manipulations now makes possible the application of these electrophysiological approaches to current problems in neuropharmacology. This paper reviews the technical and biological considerations that underlie tha analysis of these problems by electrophysiology and illustrates some of the interpretative pitfalls.