A technique for preparing in vitro slices of cat's visual cortex for electrophysiological experiments

A technique for the preparation and in vitro maintenance of slices of neocortex from cats anesthetized with Nembutal has been described in detail. The visual cortex (posterior lateral gyrus) was cut in slices in situ using a knife consisting of two razor blades with separation of 0.7--1.0 mm. An artificially-defined medium was sprayed abundantly over the brain throughout the slicing procedures. Slices thus obtained were immediately placed between nylon meshes and incubated in a well-oxygenated medium. For recording, one of the slices was transferred to an experimental chamber in which a medium was bubbled and circulated with a gas mixture (5% CO2 in O2) introduced through a glass filter fitted at the bottom. Slices thus treated gave large evoked potentials in response to stimulation of the white matter and high-frequency injury discharges as a macroelectrode was inserted into the tissue. They also allowed stable and high-quality intracellular recordings from single neurons.