Patched an interneuron or principal cell???

Hi,

I'm new to electrophysiology.  I'm working with mouse CA1 hippocampal neurons.  I want to be recording from the principal neurons and examining their responses to AMPA and NMDA agonists - how can I double check if the neuron I have patched is a pricipal neuron or interneuron?

Thanks very much,

 Staining your slice for GABAergic markers or glutamatergic markers after you have done your recording will help you identify interneurons from CA1 neurons.

You can have biocytin in your patch pipette that will allow you to mark the individual neurons from which you recorded

Also - hippocampal interneurons can be identified by the presence of a hyperpolarization activated current (Ih) that can be measured with a hyperpolarizing I-V protocol.  There are plenty of papers in the literature out there on this.