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Monitoring Neural Activity with Genetically Encoded Ca2+ Indicators

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Methods in Neuroethological Research

Abstract

Visualizing the activity of nerve cells using genetically encoded indicator proteins has emerged to a widely used technique in the field of neuroscience. In particular, intracellular Ca2+ dynamics represents a parameter that is closely correlated with neuronal excitation, and a variety of genetically encoded Ca2+ sensors have been developed. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is an extremely useful model organism to use these indicators because of its sophisticated genetic tools to express an artificial genetic construct in a spatially and temporally controlled pattern within the nervous system. Binary expression systems, for which large amount of different fly strains exist, enable a targeted expression in selective neuronal populations. Advanced fluorescence microscopical visualization techniques (see Part 3) allow for real-time monitoring of neural activity patterns. In Drosophila, optical Ca2+ imaging has been used to analyze basic principles of neuronal coding and processing, e.g., olfactory coding, visual stimulus processing, taste perception, mechanosensation, or learning and memory. In this chapter, we will review how genetic targeting methods can be used in Drosophila to monitor neural Ca2+ activity in vivo in order to study how individual neurons or neuronal ensembles encode stimulus information.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Chikusa, Furo, Aichi, 464-8602, Japan

    Azusa Kamikouchi

  2. Precursory Research for Embryonic Science and Technology, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Tokyo, 102-0076, Japan

    Azusa Kamikouchi

  3. Department of Molecular Neurobiology of Behavior, Georg-August University, Schwann-Schleiden Forschungszentrum, Julia-Lermontowa-Weg 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    André Fiala

Authors
  1. Azusa Kamikouchi
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  2. André Fiala
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Correspondence to Azusa Kamikouchi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, Hokkaido University Faculty of Science, Sapporo, Japan

    Hiroto Ogawa

  2. Dept of Biosciences and Informatics, Keio University Faculty of Science and Technology, Yokohama, Japan

    Kotaro Oka

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Kamikouchi, A., Fiala, A. (2013). Monitoring Neural Activity with Genetically Encoded Ca2+ Indicators. In: Ogawa, H., Oka, K. (eds) Methods in Neuroethological Research. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54331-2_7

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