This volume provides current methods to analyze the properties of designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADDs) in vitro and to measure the biological responses of DREADD activation in different neuronal populations in vivo. Chapters focus on the utility of DREADD technology to selectively stimulate or inhibit neuronal activity in selected brain areas of transgenic mice. In addition, the successful use of DREADD expression in rats and Drosophila is described. Together, the DREADD technology represents a non-invasive, chemical-genetic tool for investigating neuronal signaling and the resulting behavioural responses in vivo. Written in the popular Neuromethods series style, chapters include the kind of detail and key advice from the specialists needed to get successful results in your own laboratory. Concise and easy-to-use, Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs aims to ensure successful results in the further study of this vital field.

Includes cutting-edge methods and protocols

1. Defining the Functional Equivalence of Wild Type and Chemically Engineered G Protein-Coupled Receptors