Effect of taurine and caffeine on sleep-wake activity in Drosophila melanogaster.

ABSTRACT: Caffeine and taurine are two major neuromodulators present in large quantities in many popular energy drinks. We investigated their effects on sleep-wake control in constant darkness using the fruit fly Drosophila as a model system. It has been shown that caffeine, as the most widely used psychostimulant, can boost arousal through the dopamine pathway in the mushroom bodies of flies. Taurine is a GABA receptor agonist, which is inhibitory to neuronal firing. We show here that flies receiving a low dose of caffeine (0.01%) increase locomotor activity by 25%, and decrease total sleep by 15%. Treatment with taurine at 0.1% to 1.5% reduces locomotor activity by 28% to 86%, and shifts it from diurnal to nocturnal. At 0.75%, taurine also increases total sleep by 50%. Our results show that taurin

SUBMITTER: Lin FJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3630960 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature