Clonal relationships impact neuronal tuning within a phylogenetically ancient vertebrate brain structure.

Understanding how neurons acquire specific response properties is a major goal in neuroscience. Recent studies in mouse neocortex have shown that "sister neurons" derived from the same cortical progenitor cell have a greater probability of forming synaptic connections with one another and are biased to respond to similar sensory stimuli. However, it is unknown whether such lineage-based rules contribute to functional circuit organization across different species and brain regions.

Using Neurogenetics and the Warmth-Gated Ion Channel TRPA1 to Study the Neural Basis of Behavior in Drosophila.

Here we describe a set of straightforward laboratory exercises that integrate the study of genetics, neuroanatomy, cellular physiology and animal behavior. We use genetic tools in Drosophila for visualizing and remotely activating ensembles of neurons with heat pulses. First, we show how to examine the anatomy of several neuronal populations using genetically encoded green fluorescent protein.