Article
Biology
Tomas Andreani, Clark Rosensweig, Shiju Sisobhan, Emmanuel Ogunlana, William Kath, Ravi Allada
Summary: This study reveals the circuit and molecular mechanisms by which discrete circadian clock neurons program a homeostatic sleep center in fruit flies. The effects of sleep deprivation depend on morning and evening clock neurons, independent of their roles in circadian locomotor activity. Higher morning rebound and elevated gene and protein expression levels as well as calcium levels in sleep homeostat neurons suggest regulation by clock circuits.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Yahong Wang, Hongying Zhang, Ziyan Zhang, Boqun Sun, Chao Tang, Lu Zhang, Zhihao Jiang, Bo Ding, Yanyan Liao, Peng Cai
Summary: The study found that long-term exposure to 3.5 GHz radiofrequency radiation can affect the activity, sleep, and gene expression of Drosophila offspring, leading to increased heat stress response, altered expression of circadian clock and neurotransmitter genes.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biology
Grace H. Goh, Dominique Blache, Peter J. Mark, W. Jason Kennington, Shane K. Maloney
Summary: Circadian rhythms play a crucial role in optimizing health by syncing physiological processes with daily environmental challenges. This study found that cycling temperature conditions can impact Drosophila melanogaster lifespan, modulating the expression of heat shock proteins and senescence markers. Additionally, cycling temperature conditions can also regulate the amplitude of clock gene expression in the flies, particularly affecting longevity in male fruit flies.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Physiology
Nils Reinhard, Frank K. Schubert, Enrico Bertolini, Nicolas Hagedorn, Giulia Manoli, Manabu Sekiguchi, Taishi Yoshii, Dirk Rieger, Charlotte Helfrich-Foerster
Summary: Drosophila's dorsal clock neurons (DNs) play an important role in regulating activity and connecting with downstream neurons in the fly's circadian system. Recent research has revealed the heterogeneity of these neurons, with some being strongly connected with lateral clock neurons (LNs) and others serving as output neurons. Additionally, two putative communication centers, located in the superior lateral protocerebrum and the posterior lateral protocerebrum, have been identified as potential key players in the clock network.
FRONTIERS IN PHYSIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Interdisciplinary Applications
William Chung, Michael Barnett-Cowan
Summary: This study investigates the effects of VR experiences on sensory perception and measures sickness severity. The findings show that VR exposure can result in shifts in perception of verticality, with higher intensity VR games leading to more severe cybersickness symptoms. The change in sensory perception after each VR experience explains 49.5% of the variance in sickness severity ratings.
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
S. Borkataki, B. Bhattacharyya, S. Sen, R. R. Taye, M. D. Reddy, S. P. Nanda
Summary: Sleep is a biologically cyclical episode of brain and body, crucial for all organisms including insects. The term 'Torpor' is used to describe the sleep-like state in insects, which requires further research to understand the detailed mechanisms governing their sleep patterns.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Soo Min Oh, Kyunghwa Jeong, Jeong Taeg Seo, Seok Jun Moon
Summary: Through studying fruit flies, we have found that multimodal sensory integration plays a role in feeding behavior, particularly the contributions of olfactory and mechanical inputs to taste-evoked feeding behavior. Controlled delivery of three different sensory cues can produce a supra-additive reflex. Fruit flies serve as a versatile model system for studying multisensory integration related to feeding, which likely also exists in vertebrates.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Annika F. Barber, Shi Yi Fong, Anna Kolesnik, Michael Fetchko, Amita Sehgal
Summary: Regulation of circadian behavior and physiology by the Drosophila brain clock requires communication from central clock neurons to downstream output regions. Morning and evening clock neurons have time-of-day-dependent connectivity to the pars intercerebralis, which is regulated by specific peptides and fast neurotransmitters. This study provides insights into mechanisms by which clock neurons signal to nonclock cells to drive rhythms of behavior.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Haoyang Huang, Debra R. Possidente, Christopher G. Vecsey
Summary: Sleep is a universal and extremely complicated function that is regulated by two systems - sleep homeostasis and circadian rhythms. In fruit flies, the neuropeptide SIFamide (SIFa) has been shown to promote sleep when optogenetically activated, with a sexually dimorphic effect observed. Activation of SIFa neurons for as brief a period as 1 second can decrease walking behavior, suggesting a rapid sleep-inducing response.
PHYSIOLOGY & BEHAVIOR
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Terence Al L. Abaquita, Milena Damulewicz, Debarati Bhattacharya, Elzbieta Pyza
Summary: Heme oxygenase (HO) in the fly's brain is regulated by the circadian clock, light, age, exposure to stress, and exogenous antioxidants, and crosstalks with apoptosis and autophagy under different conditions. Curcumin feeding can restore the rhythm of HO in older flies, while flies exposed to paraquat show a protective response in the brain at specific times of the day. This suggests that HO plays a role in controlling apoptotic and autophagic processes in the brain against oxidative damage.
Article
Biology
Patricia Jarabo, Celia G. Barredo, Carmen de Pablo, Sergio Casas-Tinto, Francisco A. Martin
Summary: Neurodegeneration induced by glioblastoma disrupts circadian rhythms in Drosophila, and aligning these rhythms with the external period can lead to a longer lifespan, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach for human glioblastoma.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Vojtech Kumpost, Lennart Hilbert, Ralf Mikut
Summary: Biological oscillators are affected by stochastic fluctuations and changing environmental conditions. In populations of uncoupled oscillators, noise can enable population-level entrainment for a wider range of input amplitudes and periods. This study found that increasing noise intensity in a population of a sufficient number of oscillators results in faster entrainment after a phase change of the input signal and increased sensitivity to low-amplitude input signals.
JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY INTERFACE
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Sergio Hidalgo, Joanna C. C. Chiu
Summary: Organisms adapt to survive in unfavorable seasonal conditions by utilizing photoperiod and temperature signals. Genetic studies, including in Drosophila melanogaster, indicate that circadian clock components play a role in seasonal adaptations, but our understanding is incomplete. New sequencing technologies have helped to reveal the plastic changes in cellular processes under different environmental conditions. This article discusses the integration of photoperiod and temperature in seasonal biology, as well as the molecular and cellular pathways involved in physiological adaptations, focusing on D. melanogaster.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Peter Deppisch, Valentina Kirsch, Charlotte Helfrich-Foerster, Pingkalai R. Senthilan
Summary: The lineage and habitat of an insect affect its CRY/PL composition. Analysis of protein sequences from various insect species revealed the presence of four frequent CRY/PLs: 6-4 PL, CPDII PL, MCRY, and DCRY. Light-exposed insects tend to have more CRY/PLs, but even insects with reduced CRY/PLs still possess MCRY.
JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY A-NEUROETHOLOGY SENSORY NEURAL AND BEHAVIORAL PHYSIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Ivan Camponogara
Summary: This brief review aims to summarize the most influential theories in multisensory integration and sensory-motor control and provide new ideas on the multisensory-motor integration process. The reviewer also proposes an alternative view of how the multisensory integration process unfolds along the action planning and execution and makes several connections with existing multisensory-motor control theories.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2023)