Headstage; Headstage Elements - NPI ELC-03XS Operating Instructions And System Description

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7. Headstage

The ELC-03XS comes with a headstage for connecting suction electrodes for loose-patch
clamp or whole cell recordings and / or stimulation or electroporation, respectively or sharp
electrodes for intracellular or extracellular recordings. The use of metal electrodes is possible
as well.
A differential (miniature) headstage (see Optional accessories in chapter 3.1) for
measurements in vivo is also available (see also chapter 8.1 and contact npi for details).
7.1.

Headstage Elements

Figure 7: ELC-03XS headstage
 P
BNC connector for the electrode holder
EL
 REF
Connector for the reference electrode (differential headstage only)
 GND
Ground connector
 TYPE
Type of amplifier, BA  Bridge amplifier, ELC  ELC amplifier
 R FB
Value of feedback resistor, 10M: 10 M, 100 M: 100 M
 Headstage cable to amplifier
 Mounting plate
The electrode filled with electrolyte is inserted into an electrode holder (optional) that fits into
the BNC connector of the headstage or into an electrode holder adapter. The electrical
connection between the electrolyte and the headstage is established using a carefully
chlorinated silver wire. Chlorinating of the silver wire is very important since contact of silver
to the electrolyte leads to electrochemical potentials causing varying offset potentials at the
electrode, deterioration of the voltage measurement etc. (for details see Kettenmann and
Grantyn (1992)). For optimal chlorinating of sliver wires an automated chlorinating apparatus
(ACl-01) is available (contact npi for details).
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version 2.2
ELC-03XS User Manual
page 26