Kamino K, Sakai T, Momose-Sato Y, Hirota A, Sato K
Department of Physiology, Tokyo Medical and Dental University School of Medicine, Japan.
Jpn J Physiol. 1993;43 Suppl 1:S43-51.
A basic problem in neurophysiology is concerned with the functional organization/architecture of the central nervous system (CNS). This problem has been studied through a variety of experiments and theoretical approaches. The ontogenetic approach is potentially a very useful strategy for analyzing the complex and subtle functional organization/architecture of the central nervous system. However, for investigations of the early embryonic CNS, conventional electrophysiological recording techniques, including microelectrodes, are extremely difficult or impossible to employ, owing to the small size, fragility and topology of the immature or newly matured neurons. For this reason, investigations of electrophysiology in the vertebrate CNS during the early phases of development have been hampered. Optical techniques using voltage-sensitive dyes have made it possible to monitor electrophysiological events in living systems that are inaccessible to microelectrodes [1, 2]. Furthermore, optical recording methods have been developed into a powerful tool for recording electrical activity simultaneously from many sites in one living preparation [3-5]. Applying these optical techniques, we have overcome traditional obstacles to functional approaches to embryonic heart and CNS during early development [6-8]. We describe here some results obtained with optical techniques in the early embryonic chick brain stem.
神经生理学中的一个基本问题与中枢神经系统（CNS）的功能组织/结构有关。这个问题已经通过各种实验和理论方法进行了研究。个体发生学方法可能是分析中枢神经系统复杂而微妙的功能组织/结构的一种非常有用的策略。然而，对于早期胚胎中枢神经系统的研究，由于未成熟或新成熟神经元的体积小、脆弱性和拓扑结构，包括微电极在内的传统电生理记录技术极难或无法应用。因此，脊椎动物中枢神经系统发育早期阶段的电生理研究受到了阻碍。使用电压敏感染料的光学技术使得监测微电极无法触及的活体系统中的电生理事件成为可能[1,2]。此外，光学记录方法已发展成为一种强大的工具，可在一个活体标本中同时从多个部位记录电活动[3-5]。应用这些光学技术，我们克服了早期发育过程中对胚胎心脏和中枢神经系统进行功能研究的传统障碍[6-8]。我们在此描述了利用光学技术在早期胚胎鸡脑干中获得的一些结果。
