Activity Monitoring for Analysis of Sleep in Drosophila melanogaster
- 1Department of Psychology, College of Science, California State University, Hayward, California 94542, USA
- 2Neuroscience Program, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866, USA
- ↵4Correspondence: cvecsey{at}skidmore.edu; divya.sitaraman{at}csueastbay.edu
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↵3 Co-first authors.
Abstract
Sleep is important for survival, and the need for sleep is conserved across species. In the past two decades, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has emerged as a promising system in which to study the genetic, neural, and physiological bases of sleep. Through significant advances in our understanding of the regulation of sleep in flies, the field is poised to address several open questions about sleep, such as how the need for sleep is encoded, how molecular regulators of sleep are situated within brain networks, and what the functions of sleep are. Here, we describe key findings, open questions, and commonly used methods that have been used to inform existing theories and develop new ways of thinking about the function, regulation, and adaptability of sleep behavior.
Footnotes
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From the Drosophila Neurobiology collection, edited by Bing Zhang, Ellie Heckscher, Alex C. Keene, and Scott Waddell.
