Walton Jones disc edit  almost 9 years ago

Commit id: 9e37a8a756552f91697367d6ef814e4aa52521b1

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Another more recent study showed that treatment with the T-type-specific channel blocker TTA-A2 enhances sleep and delta rhythms in wild type mice but not Ca\textsubscript{v}3.1/Ca\textsubscript{v}3.3 double knockout mice\cite{kraus:2010aa}.  In other words, manipulation of T-type channels can both enhance and reduce total sleep and deep delta-wave sleep depending on the experimental context.  Although perhaps disrespectful an underestimate  of the actual complexity of the situation, the subtle subtlety of the  phenotypes of the homozygous viable Ca\textsubscript{v}3 mutant mice are often ascribed to functional compensation among the various Ca\textsubscript{v}3.1-3 isoforms. \textcolor{red}{Maybe a citation here?} isoforms\cite{senatore:2012aa}.  It is surprising, then, that despite its broad and relatively strong expression across adult fly brains, null mutants of the one and only fly T-type channel, DmCa\textsubscript{v}3, are also homozygous viable and lack any overt phenotypes.  We do show in this study, however, that DmCa\textsubscript{v}3-null mutants sleep more than controls.  We have been unable so far to assign this phenotype to a specific neuronal subpopulation, but our results suggest an overall wake-promoting role for DmCa\textsubscript{v}3.