Intracellular Recording in the Leech

Leeches are famous for their ability to take down huge animals and their helpfulness during reconstructive surgeries. Oh, and there's that whole period of history where we thought it was a good idea to suck out most of our blood with leeches.

In the field of neuroscience, leeches are also pretty well-known.

As you might expect, the leech nervous system looks quite different from ours. They don't have a brain, exactly -- they have many groups of neurons, called ganglia. But, their neurons fire action potentials, and are even responsive to touch, just like our own.

In our course, we'll record from various neurons in the leech, and we'll also fill these neurons with dye so that we can get a better look at their structure.

This lab is largely inspired and enabled by the support and research of Bill Kristan & Kathy French (UC San Diego).