WinLTP
Version 3.02
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What Should I Buy?
 WinLTP Program, DAQ Board and LTP Setup
 

WinLTP Program and Data Acquisition Board

What National Instruments board and what version of WinLTP should I buy?  Here are some of what we think are the best combinations (prices in US $'s and British £'s, March, 2025).

National Instruments has recently come out with a new series of low-cost boards, the mioDAQ series such as the $1100 / £960 USB-6421.  It is unlikely that WinLTP 3.02 and earlier will work with these board due to the difference in digital ports.  However, it is very likely that future versions of WinLTP will support the mioDAQ series boards. Note that hese boards currently only have wire terminals, no BNC connectors.

You can now order the WinLTP program, the National Instruments data acquisition board and LTP Setup equipment from the Chinese distributor, Nowsights.com.       

   

 

For most researchers:
  1. PCIe board (with screw terminals)
  a. AD board PCIe-6321 £920 $897
  + Cable SHC68-68-EPM cable, 2 meters 210 237
    + Connector Block (with screw terminals) CB-68LPR 169 195
          ------------ ------------
         AD board + cable + connector Subtotal £1299 $1329
  b. Standard Version of WinLTP   (1st copy is £700, additional copies £500) £700 $1050
====== ======
£1999 $2379
2.  PCIe board (with BNC connectors)
  a. AD board  PCIe-6321 £920 $897
  + Cable SHC68-68-EPM cable, 2 meters 210 237
    + Connector Block (with BNC connectors) BNC-2110 *** 550 631
          ------------ ------------
         AD board + cable + connector Subtotal £1680 $1765
  b. Standard Version of WinLTP   (1st copy is £700, additional copies £500) £700 $1050
====== ======
£2380 $2815
3. USB board (with screw terminals)
  a. USB board USB-6341 £1760 $1761
  b. Standard Version of WinLTP   (1st copy is £700, additional copies £500) £700 $1050
        ====== ======
          £2460 $2811
     
For well-off researchers:
1. USB board (with BNC connectors)
    a. USB board USB-6341 BNC £2696 $2635
    b. Standard Version of WinLTP  (1st copy is £700, additional copies £500) £700 $1050
        ====== ======
          £3396 $3685
      
   
For researchers using automated perfusion:
1.  PCIe board (with BNC connectors)
  a. AD board PCIe-6321 £920 $897
  + Cable SHC68-68-EPM cable, 2 meters 210 237
    + Connector Block (with BNC connectors) BNC-2090A *** 675 776
          ------------ ------------
         AD board + cable + connector Subtotal £1805 $1910
  b. Advanced Version of WinLTP (1st copy is £1000, additional copies £750) £1000 $1500
====== ======
£2805 $3410
2. USB board (with BNC connectors)
  a. USB board USB-6341 BNC £2696 $2635
  b. Advanced Version of WinLTP (1st copy is £1000, additional copies £750) £1000 $1500
        ====== ======
          £3696 $4135

Important: do NOT buy the National Instruments 621x M-Series boards because they have no streaming digital output and will not work with WinLTP.  Instead buy any X-Series board or a 622x and 625x M-Series board.

*** If you are using WinLTP for automated extracellular slice perfusion, a USB-6341, USB-6341-BNC, BNC-2090A, or a CB-68LPR block, are better choices.  The BNC-2110 connector box does not have the P2.7 digital output.  Similarly, the BNC-2120 connector box does not have the P2.2, P2.3 or P2.7 digital outputs.

 

 

LTP Setup Equipment Suggestions

Researchers have asked us over the years what equipment they should buy for running synaptic plasticity experiments. We have put a few suggestions here - equipment that we think is so good that we'd buy if we had a lab.

Note: WinLTP Ltd. has no relationship with these equipment manufacturers.  WinLTP Ltd does have a relationship with the Chinese distributor  Nowsights which does sell some of this equipment.

 

Extracellular amplifiers

For extracellular amplifiers, we think that the following criteria are important for extracellular synapticity recordings with glass microelectrodes with WinLTP:
1) DC is better than AC - less distortion of signal
  2) Electrode resistance measurement - to see if the electrode has clogged
3) A microelectrode headstage - to reduce noise
  4) Low-pass filter
  5) High-pass filter
      
A-M Systems Model 3000
    We recomend the A-M Systems Model 3000 one channel extracellular DC amplifier, including headstage, satisfies all these criteria at a price of $2170.  WinLTP users like it.
              

If you dont mind AC recording (0.1 Hz high-pass filter) or are using metal electrodes, the A-M Systems Model 1800 two channel extracellular AC amplifier is very popular with WinLTP users.  The price, including 2 headstages, is $3440.

 

Patch-Clamp Amplifiers

Molecular Devices MultiClamp 700B
  For patch-clamp amplifiers that are good for voltage-clamping, current-clamping, recording extracellular PSPs, and known to work well with WinLTP, we recomend the 2 channel Molecular Devices MultiClamp 700B.  It is used by many WinLTP users.

There may well be other, cheaper patch-clamps that would work just as well (such as the A-M Systems Model 2400), but we don't know any researchers that have used them.

One important consideration is that the patch-clamp amplifier and the data acquisition board/software must be separate.  For example, the all-in-one HEKA EPC 10 would not work with WinLTP and it's National Instruments board, but the HEKA EPC 800 probably would.

 

Stimulus Isolators - Digitally Triggered, Manually Controlled Amplitude

WinLTP version 3.02 and earlier can currently only use digitally-triggered, manually-controlled amplitude stimulus isolators like the Digitimer DS3, or digitally-triggered, program-controlled stimulus isolators like the MultiChannel Systems STG5 or the StimJim/StimJim_Isolator.  Future versions of WinLTP should be able to run the analog-controlled stimulus isolators like the Digitimer DS4 and the A-M Systems Model 2200. 

For stimulus isolators, we think that the following criteria are important for extracellular stimulation with metal electrodes with the current WinLTP 3.02:
1) Constant current stimulation - so that the stimulus voltage drop across the preparation remains constant even when the stimulating electrode resistance increases
  2) Biphasic rather than monophasic pulses - to reduce electrode polarization
  3)  An "output clamp" or "electrode exhauster" to actively remove residual electrode polarization after each pulse
  4) Evoking a stimulation with a single pulse - dual pulses for biphasic stimulation (e.g.for the WPI A365) is awkward

Because WinLTP is a 10 channel stimulator (2 analog and 8 digital channels) there is no need to purchase a hardware stimulator to generate trains etc.  WinLTP does all that.  Furthermore, because WinLTP knows the time when each PSP in a sweep has occurred. it can analyze each PSP in a sweep (no need to set cursor marks).
 
Digitimer DS3
   None of the digitally-triggered, manually-controlled amplitude stimulus isolators perfectly fit the desired criteria for WinLTP 3.02.  However, the closest we can recomend is the Digitimer DS3.  Although it is monophasic, it has an "output clamp" circuit which clamps the stimulation electrode to 0 volts after each pulse and effectively removes electrode polarization.  It has a price of £1100.  Using the DS3 with the output clamp OFF is not recomended.
          
 
 


Upper Trace - Clamp OFF, Lower Trace - Clamp ON.

Stimulus - 6 x 220uA, 200us pulses with an ISI of 10ms.
Scales - 25ms/div, 20V/div.
Dummy Cell - 1100pF in parallel with ~50MW.
 

 

The WPI A365 stimulus isolator also has a lot going for it. In addition to being biphasic, it has an "electrode exhauster" which shorts the two stimulating output terminals just after the pulse to remove residual polarization.  However, it requires two paired pulses to output a single biphasic stimulation, so it is a bit awkward for WinLTP 3.02 to do this - it can but it's not as straightforward as normal stimulation.  This ability to properly trigger the A365 should be in future versions of WinLTP.