Electrophysiology for dummies alias what is fast capacitance, slow capacitance and R-series?

As I promised yesterday, some basic electrophysiology knowledge is coming next as I'm currently learning this technique.

Slow capacitance (C-slow)
- can be viewed as the storage of charge in a cellular (in this case neuronal) membrane
- by pressing the ''Auto'' button in PatchMaster, it is subtracted from the recording for a more accurate result
- it is based on the size of the cell, therefore, on the size of the cell's membrane
- therefore, we can't do much about slow capacitance (can't decrease it)
- therefore, scientists focus on decreasing the fast capacitance to improve the recordings

Fast capacitance (C-fast)
- can be viewed as the storage of charge in a pipette (which is used to patch on cells)
- likewise, by pressing the ''Auto'' button in PatchMaster, it is subtracted from the recording for a more accurate result
- can be improved (decreased) by changing the properties of the pipette (e.g. coating the pipette)

R-series
= series resistance
- therefore measured in ohms
- can be viewed as resistance to the flow of current which is measured in the cell and in the contents of the pipette (their contents mix during whole cell patching and that's why we fill the pipette with an intracellular solution, i.e. one that mimicks the contents of the cell)
- on part of the pipette, the flow is blocked by the pipette's diameter; and on part of the cell, the flow is blocked by the contents of the cell such as the nucleus and other organelles
- we try to have the resistance of the tip and the cell as low as possible for ideal recordings