Inducing sleep by remote control facilitates memory consolidation in Drosophila

Science. 2011 Jun 24;332(6037):1571-6. doi: 10.1126/science.1202249.

Abstract

Sleep is believed to play an important role in memory consolidation. We induced sleep on demand by expressing the temperature-gated nonspecific cation channel Transient receptor potential cation channel (UAS-TrpA1) in neurons, including those with projections to the dorsal fan-shaped body (FB). When the temperature was raised to 31°C, flies entered a quiescent state that meets the criteria for identifying sleep. When sleep was induced for 4 hours after a massed-training protocol for courtship conditioning that is not capable of inducing long-term memory (LTM) by itself, flies develop an LTM. Activating the dorsal FB in the absence of sleep did not result in the formation of LTM after massed training.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Conditioning, Psychological
  • Drosophila / genetics
  • Drosophila / physiology*
  • Drosophila Proteins / genetics
  • Drosophila Proteins / metabolism
  • Female
  • Memory, Long-Term / physiology*
  • Models, Animal
  • Motor Activity
  • Neurons / physiology*
  • Presynaptic Terminals / physiology
  • Sleep / physiology*
  • Social Isolation
  • Temperature
  • Transcription Factors / genetics
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism
  • Transient Receptor Potential Channels / genetics
  • Transient Receptor Potential Channels / metabolism

Substances

  • Drosophila Proteins
  • GAL4 protein, Drosophila
  • Transcription Factors
  • Transient Receptor Potential Channels