title: Patch-clamp electrophysiology in Drosophila circadian pacemaker neurons.
abstract: Circadian clocks modulate the action potential firing frequency of pacemaker neurons. This daily variation in membrane excitability has been described in multiple species: from mollusks to fruit flies and mammals. Here, we provide an overview of the Drosophila pacemaker neural network, how circadian clocks drive neuronal activity within this network and we will present electrophysiological methods that we have applied to directly measure neuronal activity and reveal signal transduction pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. Electronic address: m-flourakis@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flourakis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA. Electronic address: r-allada@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Allada
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D004330:Drosophila / Q000502:physiology*; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques
keywords: Circadian; Drosophila; Electrophysiology; Neurons