PSYCO275 Chapter 7: Textbook Summary, Chapter 7, Part 2
7 Oct 2016
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Place cells are neurons that are maximally responsive to speci c locations in the world. Electrocorticography (ecog): graded potentials recorded with electrodes placed directly on the brain"s surface. The electrical behaviour of cell bodies and dendrites, which give rise to graded potentials, tends to be much more varied and slower than that of axons, which conduct action potentials. It is possible to record the activity of individual cells by measuring a single neuron"s action potentials with ne electrodes inserted into the brain. These microelectrodes can be placed next to cells (extracellular recording) or inside cells (intracellular recording). Modern extracellular recording techniques make it possible to distinguish the activity of as many as. Intracellular recording allows direct study and recording of a single neuron"s electrical activity. The disadvantages of inserting an electrode into a cell are that it can kill the cell, and that it cannot be done in wake, freely moving animals.
