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Abstract

The dynamic-clamp technique is highly useful for mimicking synaptic or voltage-gated conductances. However, its use remains rare in part because there are few systems, and they can be expensive and difficult for less-experienced programmers to implement. Furthermore, some conductances (such as sodium channels) can be quite rapid, or may have complex voltage sensitivity, so high speeds are necessary. To address these issues, we have developed a new interface that uses a common PC platform with National Instruments data acquisition, and Wavemetrics Igor to provide a simple user interface. This dynamic clamp implements leak and linear synaptic conductances, as well as a voltage-dependent synaptic conductance and kinetic channel conductances based on Hodgkin-Huxley or Markov models. The speed of the system can be assayed using a testing mode, and currently speeds of over 100 kHz (10 µs/cycle) are achievable, with short latency and little jitter.