Publication
Title
Command-line cellular electrophysiology for conventional and real-time closed-loop experiments
Author
Abstract
Background Current software tools for electrophysiological experiments are limited in flexibility and rarely offer adequate support for advanced techniques such as dynamic clamp and hybrid experiments, which are therefore limited to laboratories with a significant expertise in neuroinformatics. New Method We have developed lcg, a software suite based on a command-line interface (CLI) that allows performing both standard and advanced electrophysiological experiments. Stimulation protocols for classical voltage and current clamp experiments are defined by a concise and flexible meta description that allows representing complex waveforms as a piece-wise parametric decomposition of elementary sub-waveforms, abstracting the stimulation hardware. To perform complex experiments lcg provides a set of elementary building blocks that can be interconnected to yield a large variety of experimental paradigms. Results We present various cellular electrophysiological experiments in which lcg has been employed, ranging from the automated application of current clamp protocols for characterizing basic electrophysiological properties of neurons, to dynamic clamp, response clamp, and hybrid experiments. We finally show how the scripting capabilities behind a CLI are suited for integrating experimental trials into complex workflows, where actual experiment, online data analysis and computational modeling seamlessly integrate. Comparison with Existing Methods We compare lcg with two open source toolboxes, RTXI and RELACS. Conclusions We believe that lcg will greatly contribute to the standardization and reproducibility of both simple and complex experiments. Additionally, on the long run the increased efficiency due to a CLI will prove a great benefit for the experimental community.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Journal of neuroscience methods. - Amsterdam
Publication
Amsterdam : 2014
ISSN
0165-0270
DOI
10.1016/J.JNEUMETH.2014.04.003
Volume/pages
230 (2014) , p. 5-19
ISI
000337207000002
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
Cerebellar-Cortical Control: Cells, Circuits, Computation, and Clinic.(C7).
A quantum leap: from a spike-centered brrain universe to its underlying synaptic landscape (BRAINLEAP).
Noisy electrical stimulation of the brain, investigated in vitro through its synaptic, neuronal and microcircuitry correlates: a novel tool for basic research and neurological therapies.
Publication type
Subject
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
Web of Science
Record
Identifier
Creation 25.04.2014
Last edited 09.10.2023
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