Electrophysiological analysis of opioid peptides: Extracellular and intracellular approaches

This chapter discusses the techniques currently available for the study of opioid responses in neurons and provides the interested investigator with a basis for selecting the most appropriate set of methods for a particular intended line of inquiry. The techniques in this chapter are predicated on the use of these selective agents, which can eliminate ambiguities in the interpretation of drug effects. Techniques that are used in one type of preparation can to some extent also be used in the other. The similarities between both the μ- and δ-opioid receptor-mediated increase in potassium conductance are remarkable. Such tissues include the action of acetylcholine on M-muscarinic receptors in the heart. This is a site in which the combination of whole-cell recording and inside-out and outside-out patch recordings have shown without question the G protein link.