In vivo whole-cell recording from morphologically identified mouse superior colliculus neurons

In vivo whole-cell recording when combined with morphological characterization after biocytin labeling is a powerful technique to study subthreshold synaptic processing in cell-type-identified neuronal populations. Here, we provide a step-by-step procedure for performing whole-cell recordings in the superior colliculus of urethane-anesthetized mice, a major visual processing region in the rodent brain. Two types of visual stimulation methods are described. While we focus on superior colliculus neurons, this protocol is applicable to other brain areas.