The preconditioning phenomena have been well established in heart as well as brain. In this review, we detail some of the original studies on preconditioning as well as studies from our lab using rodents and a genetic model system (fruit fly). We have used Drosophila in our lab to solve some of the questions related to tolerance or susceptibility to hypoxia. We believe that these pro-survival strategies and genetic pathways help us understand some of the preconditioning mechanisms that protect the brain from ischemia or ischemia.
Keywords: Preconditioning; fruit flies; genetic model; hypoxia tolerance.