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Monitoring Electrical Activity in Drosophila Circadian Output Neurons

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Circadian Clocks

Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 2130))

Abstract

Drosophila melanogaster is a powerful model organism used to study circadian rhythms, historically for elucidating the molecular basis of the clock and, more recently, for allowing for dissection of neural circuits underlying rhythmic behavior. The fly can be used to investigate the neuronal basis of complex behaviors at single-neuron resolution. Patch clamp electrophysiology permits single-neuron recording of resting membrane potential and action potential firing in response to genetic or environmental manipulations or application of drugs and neurotransmitters. Here we describe a protocol for dissecting Drosophila brains for electrophysiology, setting up and using a patch clamp system, and analyzing firing data around the circadian day and in stimulation-response experiments to test for functional neuronal connectivity in circadian circuits.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Todd Holmes and Keri Fogle for sharing their expertise in Drosophila electrophysiology. Our research in this area is supported by NIH grant R37 NS048471.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Annika F. Barber & Amita Sehgal

  2. Waksman Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA

    Annika F. Barber

Authors
  1. Annika F. Barber
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  2. Amita Sehgal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amita Sehgal .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chronobiology and Sleep Research Group, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Steven A. Brown

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Barber, A.F., Sehgal, A. (2021). Monitoring Electrical Activity in Drosophila Circadian Output Neurons. In: Brown, S.A. (eds) Circadian Clocks. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 2130. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0381-9_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0381-9_17

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  • Publisher Name: Humana, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-0716-0380-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-0716-0381-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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