The development of novel tools, such as light activation of GPCRs (optoXRs)165 that couple to GIRK channels as well as conditional and cell-specific knock-out mouse lines, will be important to further advance our understanding of GIRK function. These tools will also be crucial for the investigation of GIRK channels in disease and may help to design specific drugs, selectively opening or closing GIRK channels composed of different subunit compositions, to treat addiction, epilepsy, Down’s syndrome, or Parkinson’s disease.
