Talk:Voltage clamp

This article on the voltage clamp technique uses a chronological format to outline the development and major applications of voltage clamp. The article is very informative and interesting to read, and I have very few comments (see below). I also added a few comments to the article itself, and fixed a handful of typos.

Specific comments:

Beginning of the article: Right after the definition of voltage clamp, where it is contrasted with current clamp, I suggest also mentioning dynamic clamp as a third option, and linking to the corresponding Scholarpedia article.

I thought that the dynamic clamp uses electronic feedback to control conductance not the voltage; thus it seems inappropriate to include here. Nevertheless it is linked from the See Also section.

Section on patch clamp: It was my understanding that the term "patch clamp" (as opposed to, for example, sharp electrode recording) refers to the manner in which the cell is electrically contacted, but is not restricted to voltage clamp applications, and can for example also be used in current clamp or dynamic clamp mode. I therefore think it is misleading to describe the patch clamp as a form of voltage clamp. Perhaps that sentence should be clarified.

I an unaware of any use of the patch clamp as a dynamic or current clamp. If I am mistaken, please provide references.

===START SECOND REVIEW=====

This article on Voltage Clamp is an excellent review of the need for, use of and the essential technology underlying the voltage clamp technique. The article brilliantly explains the highlights in the development of the technique for applications ranging from squid axons to small mammalian cells.

Specific comments

1) The historical insight into Marmont's invention of the space clamp but failure to publish was a much appreciated eye opener for this reviewer.

2) In the first paragraph in the section titled "Elimination of the threshold by controlling the voltage" it mentions that Cole recognized the unique possibility of controlling the membrane voltage and measuring the transmembrane currents responsible for the action potential. The driving reason to measure current is to understand the membrane conductance changes, so it would be worth expanding this to explicitly say that in the common protocol wherein the membrane voltage is stepped to and held at a fixed value the conductance is directly proportional to the current. That is, the current is a looking glass into the parameter of interest.

3) Ideally, this review would include a full description of the two microelectrode voltage clamp. Otherwise, its title should be changed to Squid Axon Voltage Clamp and a separate article should be written on two microelectrode voltage clamp.

4) The two brief descriptions of the patch clamp and single electrode voltage clamp techniques will presumably link through to full articles on these techniques once they are written. Rather than try to briefly describe them in this article it would be more interesting to briefly describe what their essential differences and benefits are to the squid axon voltage clamp or the two microelectrode voltage clamp.

Typos Caption of Figure 1: "The central or_side spiral elec_t_rode" Third bullet point at end of Hodgkin and Huxley section, optionally change "are" to "was". Most of the figures are not specifically referred to in the text. Consider making the thumbnail of Figure 5 a little bigger so that the text can be read in a printed copy of the article. Figure 7 needs a caption.