Artifactual voltage response recorded from hair cells with patch-clamp amplifiers

PATCH-CLAMP amplifiers (PCAs) are commonly used to characterize voltage- an d current-clamp responses in the same cell. However, the cell membrane volt age response can be severely distorted by PCAs working in the current-clamp mode. Here we compare the voltage response of pigeon semicircular canal ha ir cells in situ, recorded with two different PCAs, and with a classic micr oelectrode bridge amplifier (BA). We found that the voltage response of hai r cells recorded with PCAs differed significantly from that recorded with t he BA. The true hair cell membrane voltage response to positive current ste ps was characterized by a strongly damped oscillation, whose frequency and duration depended on hair cell location in the sensory crista ampullaris. N euroReport 10:1837-1841 (C) 1999 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.