patch-clamp technique

the use of very fine-bore pipette microelectrodes, clamped by suction onto tiny patches of the plasma membrane of a neuron, to record the electrical activity of a single square micrometer of the membrane, including single ion channels. [devised in the 1980s by German neuroscientists Erwin Neher (1944– ) and Bert Sakmann (1942– )]

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Psychology term of the day

November 25th 2024

confusion effect

an antipredator behavior in which each of several animals moves or vocalizes in a highly random way, making it difficult for predators to locate and attack any one individual. See also dilution effect.