Murthy, M., Turner, G. (2013) Dissection of the head cuticle and sheath of living flies for whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in the brain. Cold Spring Harbor Protocols, 8 (2). pp. 134-139. ISSN 19403402 (ISSN)
Abstract
Whole-cell patch-clamp recording has been applied to neurons in the central nervous system of Drosophila, allowing researchers to study the function of neurons of interest within native circuits in a genetically tractable model system. Here, we present a method to expose neurons in the fly brain for such recording. The fly is inserted into an opening in a piece of tinfoil in a recording platform and fixed in place. This immobilizes the fly's head and permits the exposed neurons to be bathed in saline above the surface of the foil, while the sensory structures (antennae, proboscis, and much of the eyes) remain dry below the surface of the foil. The tinfoil is within a well that allows external saline to be perfused over the fly, and the walls of the well adapted so the ground wire (connected to the amplifier head stage) can be securely positioned within the saline bath. Our method to construct a recording platform, presented here, makes use of materials in the laboratory. Once the fly is mounted in the platform, the head cuticle and sheath covering the brain are removed. We describe how to mount the fly and open up the head cuticle to access the mushroom body Kenyon cells (KCs), whose somata are located on the dorsal/posterior surface of the brain. To record from neuronal cell bodies located in other brain regions, the approach to mount the fly must be modified to provide consistent access to the cells of interest. © 2013 Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
| Item Type: | Paper |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | animal experiment article cuticle dissection Drosophila electroretinogram microscope nerve cell nerve sheath nonhuman patch clamp perineurium recording whole cell |
| Subjects: | organism description > animal > insect > Drosophila Investigative techniques and equipment organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > organs types and functions > brain organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > organs types and functions organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions Investigative techniques and equipment > patch-clamp recording Investigative techniques and equipment > recording devices > patch-clamp recording |
| CSHL Authors: | |
| Communities: | CSHL labs > Turner lab |
| Depositing User: | Matt Covey |
| Date: | 2013 |
| Date Deposited: | 14 Mar 2013 15:46 |
| Last Modified: | 14 Mar 2013 15:46 |
| Related URLs: | |
| URI: | https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/27800 |
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