Figure 2

The effect of imidacloprid on an isolated nerve cell in the whole cell voltage clamp mode (a) and the current clamp mode (b). Imidacloprid (left graph) induces an ion current for the whole time of application (see bar). After termination of the application the current declines rapidly and returns to the resting level. No depolarization of the cell arises because the membrane potential was clamped by the recording electrodes. In the current clamp mode (right graph) imidacloprid application induces a depolarization of the cell membrane, which triggers the generation of many action potentials.