Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA.
Nat Neurosci. 2010 Mar;13(3):393-9. doi: 10.1038/nn.2492. Epub 2010 Feb 14.
We developed a technique for performing whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from genetically identified neurons in behaving Drosophila. We focused on the properties of visual interneurons during tethered flight, but this technique generalizes to different cell types and behaviors. We found that the peak-to-peak responses of a class of visual motion-processing interneurons, the vertical-system visual neurons (VS cells), doubled when flies were flying compared with when they were at rest. Thus, the gain of the VS cells is not fixed, but is instead behaviorally flexible and changes with locomotor state. Using voltage clamp, we found that the passive membrane resistance of VS cells was reduced during flight, suggesting that the elevated gain was a result of increased synaptic drive from upstream motion-sensitive inputs. The ability to perform patch-clamp recordings in behaving Drosophila promises to help unify the understanding of behavior at the gene, cell and circuit levels.
我们开发了一种从行为果蝇中遗传鉴定神经元进行全细胞膜片钳记录的技术。我们专注于在系绳飞行过程中视觉中间神经元的特性，但该技术可推广到不同的细胞类型和行为。我们发现，一类视觉运动处理中间神经元，即垂直系统视觉神经元（VS 细胞）的峰峰值响应在飞行时是静止时的两倍。因此，VS 细胞的增益不是固定的，而是具有行为灵活性，并随运动状态而变化。使用电压钳，我们发现 VS 细胞的被动膜电阻在飞行过程中降低，这表明升高的增益是由于来自上游运动敏感输入的突触驱动增加所致。在行为果蝇中进行膜片钳记录的能力有望帮助统一基因、细胞和电路水平的行为理解。
