Introduction to electrophysiological methods and instrumentation

Introduction to Electrophysiological Methods and Instrumentation covers alltopics of interest to electrophysiologists neuroscientists andneurophysiologists from... » 

Introduction to Electrophysiological Methods and Instrumentation covers alltopics of interest to electrophysiologists neuroscientists andneurophysiologists from the reliable penetration of cells the behaviour andfunction of the equipment to the mathematical tools available for analysingdata. It discusses the pros and cons of techniques and methods used inelectrophysiology and how to avoid their pitfalls.Particularly in an era where high quality offtheshelf solutions are readilyavailable it is important for the electrophysiologist to understand how his orher equipment manages the acquisitions and analysis of low voltage biologicalsignals. Introduction to Electrophysiological Methods and Instrumentationaddresses this need. The book presents the basics of the passive and activeelectronic components and circuitry used in apparatuses such as voltageclampamplifiers addressing the strong points of modern semiconductors as well asthe limitations inherent to even the highesttech equipment. It conciselydescribes the theoretical background of the biological phenomena. The bookincludes a very useful tutorial in electronics which will introduce studentsand physiologists to the important basics of electronic engineering needed tounderstand the function of electrophysiological setups. The vast terrain ofsignal analysis is dealt with in a way that is valuable to both the uninitiatedand the expert. For example the utility of convolutions and Fourier Pascaltransformations in signal detection conditioning and analysis is presentedboth in an easy to grasp graphical form as well as in a more rigorousmathematical way. Introduces possibilities and solutions along with the problems pitfallsand artifacts of equipment and electrodes Presents the fundamentals of signal processing of analog signals spiketrains and single channel recordings as well as procedures for signal recordingand processing Includes appendice «