title: Electrophysiological and morphological characterization of identified motor neurons in the Drosophila third instar larva central nervous system.
abstract: We have used dye fills and electrophysiological recordings to identify and characterize a cluster of motor neurons in the third instar larval ventral ganglion. This cluster of neurons is similar in position to the well-studied embryonic RP neurons. Dye fills of larval dorsomedial neurons demonstrate that individual neurons within the cluster can be reproducibly identified by observing their muscle targets and bouton morphology. The terminal targets of these five neurons are body wall muscles 6/7, 1, 14, and 30 and the intersegmental nerve (ISN) terminal muscles (1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 19, 20). All cells except the ISN neuron, which has a type Is ending, display type Ib boutons. Two of these neurons appear to be identical to the embryonic RP3 and aCC cells, which define the most proximal and distal innervations within a hemisegment. The targets of the other neurons in the larval dorsomedial cluster do not correspond to embryonic targets of the neurons in the RP cluster, suggesting rewiring of this circuit during early larval stages. Electrophysiological studies of the five neurons in current clamp revealed that type Is neurons have a longer delay in the appearance of the first spike compared with type Ib neurons. Genetic, biophysical, and pharmacological studies in current and voltage clamp show this delay is controlled by the kinetics and voltage sensitivity of inactivation of a current whose properties suggest that it may be the Shal I(A) current. The combination of genetic identification and whole cell recording allows us to directly explore the cellular substrates of neural and locomotor behavior in an intact system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Volen Center for Complex Systems, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110,USA.
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Demian
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Leslie C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Griffith
mesh_terms: D015761:4-Aminopyridine / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D001369:Axons / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003712:Dendrites / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D007814:Larva; D008124:Locomotion / Q000502:physiology; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D008297:Male; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009132:Muscles / Q000294:innervation / Q000502:physiology; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers / Q000494:pharmacology; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D008164:Luminescent Proteins; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D015221:Potassium Channels; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins; D015761:4-Aminopyridine