Recording from Larval Body Wall Muscles: Passive Membrane Properties and Basic Features of Synaptic Transmission.

The larval body wall muscle preparation was first used for electrophysiological analysis in the 1970s. This preparation has become the "gold standard" for studying neuronal excitability as well as synaptic transmission. Here, we first describe the steps for performing intracellular recording from fly larval body wall muscles and then explain how to record and analyze spontaneous and evoked synaptic potentials. Methods used include larval dissection (filleting), identification of muscle fibers and their innervating nerves, the use of the micromanipulator and microelectrode in penetrating the muscle membrane, and nerve stimulation to evoke synaptic potentials.