The LTP Program: a data acquisition program for on-line analysis of long-term potentiation and other synaptic events

The LTP Program is a stimulation, acquisition and on-line analysis program for studying long-term potentiation (LTP), long-term depression (LTD), and stimulus-evoked synaptic responses in general. The program is freely availa ble from the website: www.Itp-program.com. It is a 32-bit DOS program that runs on Windows 3/95/98 computers having a Pico Technologies ADC-42, Axon I nstruments' Digidata 1200, or Scientific Solution's Labmaster acquisition b oard. The program records two channels of activity in extracellular, curren t- or voltage clamp modes. It acquires less than or equal to 1000000 sample s per sweep, and has extracellular dual pathway stimulation and epoch-like intracellular stimulation. Basic protocols include slow alternating dual pa thway stimulation. LTP is induced by single train, theta burst, or primed b urst stimulation. LTD is induced using fast repetitive I pulse sweeps (less than or equal to2 Hz). The program analyzes all stimulus-evoked synaptic r esponses in both acquisition channels. Analyzes include: slope, peak amplit ude/latency, population spike amplitude/latency, average amplitude, duratio n, area, rise time, decay time, coastline, cell resistance and patch electr ode series resistance. Sweeps can be averaged and digitally filtered. Train s can be analyzed by measuring the responses of all pulses relative to the baseline of the first pulse. Stimulus artifacts can be automatically remove d for accurate determination of synaptic areas and peaks during a train. (C ) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.