Work

Data transformations for improved display and fitting of single-channel dwell time histograms

Year: 1987

Type: article

Abstract: A.L. Blatz and K.L. Magleby (1986a. J. Physiol. [Lond.]. 378:141-174) have demonstrated the usefulness of plotting histograms with a logarithmic time axis to display the distributions of dwell times from recordings of single ionic channels. We derive here the probability density function (pdf) corresponding to logarithmically binned histograms. Plotted on a logarithmic time scale the pdf is a peaked function with an invariant width; this and other properties of the pdf, coupled with a variance-stabilizing (square root) transformation for the ordinate, greatly simplify the interpretation and manual fitting of distributions containing multiple exponential components. We have also examined the statistical errors in estimation, by the maximum-likelihood method, of kinetic parameters from logarithmically binned data. Using binned data greatly accelerates the fitting procedure and introduces significant errors only for bins spaced more widely than 8-16 per decade.

Source: Biophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1016/s0006-3495(87)83298-8

Authors: F.J. Sigworth, S.M. Sine

Institution: Yale University

Language: English

Topic: Ion channel regulation and function

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,000

Funders: National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke