ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the uses and limitations of cellular electrophysiological recording methods for investigating the interaction of nervous and endocrine systems. It analysis the application of in vivo electrophysiological recording approaches to the study of neuroendocrine systems. Electrophysiological recording techniques have been recognized to provide a “window” on the cellular dynamics of peripheral and central nervous system tissues. A variety of recording techniques are currently available for in vivo studies of the electrophysiological properties of nervous system tissues and their integral role in neuroendocrine systems. Derivatives of steroid hormones that demonstrate an enhanced solubility in polar solutions are becoming commercially available and, therefore, these compounds may be utilized in microiontophoretic studies to evaluate their direct effects in the nervous system. A benefit of critical importance to the determination of physiological and pharmacological responses in a neuroendocrine system is that the organism and hence, the neuroendocrine system, is intact.
