Hi all,
I am working on setting up an electrophysiological rig to perform vestibular nerve stimulation experiments in embryonic brain slices. We have an Axopatch 1D amplifier and Digidata 1440A digitizer connected and functional, but I'm not sure how to integrate the Digitimer Isolated Stimulator into the setup in order to have stimuli delivered appropriately. Is anyone familiar with this type of setup or using one who could provide some insight into the connectivity/telegraphing?
Thanks in advance!
Blake
It is quite easy to configure the stimulation on such a setup. Using a BNC cable, connect the input BNC of the Digitimer stimulus isolator to one of Digital Outputs of Digidata 1440A (DO #0, for example). Then, in pClamp software, create a protocol with a digital pattern of the corresponding digital output #0; the protocol should have at least 3 epochs- the output is 0 for some defined time (pre-stimulus time), then the output changes to 1 for some short time (the time of the stimulus itself), and then returns to 0 (after-stimulus time).
You can also add an analogue channel and acquire the above digital stimulation pattern together with the output of the amplifier. Although usually not necessary, it sometimes helps to see the stimulation pattern at the bottom of the screen. Using a BNC T-connector, split the digital output #0 and send the digital signal to the stimulator and back to one of the available Digidata's analogue channels. Define this channel in pClamp and set the gain to 1V/V. Add this channel to the protocol. During the stimulation, you will see the rectangular stimulation pattern (0V - no stimulation, 5V - stimulation).
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