QBI Neuroscience Seminar: Deep sleep and general anaesthesia in Drosophila

Event Details

Date:

Wednesday, 01 August 2012

Time:

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Room:

Auditorium Level 7

UQ Location:

Queensland Brain Institute (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/group-leader-van-swinderen

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Speaker: Associate Professor Bruno van Swinderen
Cognitive and Behavioural Neuroscience, Queensland Brain Institute
The University of Queensland

Title: Deep sleep and general anaesthesia in Drosophila

Abstract: Our understanding of consciousness often follows from studies of selective attention, sleep, and general anaesthesia in humans. However, these behavioural states can also be studied in simpler animals, such as the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, where responsiveness to stimuli can be indicative of the level arousal in the animal. Although most animals sleep, the function of this low-arousal state remains highly debated. Instead of being a simple “off” state, I will argue that sleep in Drosophila cycles through stages of varying intensity, and that deeper sleep is associated with molecular pathways involved in maintaining synaptic homeostasis. This will be contrasted to general anaesthesia, which also induces a low arousal state in animals, but via a wide variety of volatile or intravenous compounds. Although some target mechanisms have been identified, it remains unclear how these drugs produce unconsciousness. I will show some evidence that the volatile anaesthetic isoflurane activates a sleep circuit in the Drosophila brain, and will speculate on the possible relevance of endogenous stimulus suppression mechanisms to sleep and selective attention.