QBI Neuroscience Seminar: 'Electrophysiological Analyses of Sleep States in Drosophila'

Event Details

Date:

Wednesday, 08 November 2017 - Wednesday, 08 November 2017

Time:

11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Room:

QBI Level 7 Auditorium

UQ Location:

Queensland Brain Institute (St Lucia)

URL:

http://www.qbi.uq.edu.au/neuroscience-seminars

Event category(s):

Full Description:: Dr Melvyn Yap
Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland

Title: 'Electrophysiological Analyses of Sleep States in Drosophila'

Abstract: Understanding the electrophysiological properties of the sleeping brain is an important step towards understanding sleep functions. Sleep studies in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster have begun to unravel molecular mechanisms involved in sleep regulations. However, the electrophysiological properties of sleep, a key component in mammalian sleep research, remain largely unexplored in fly sleep research. Here I will present my work in developing novel brain recording techniques for sleeping flies, using various methods of sleep induction techniques, discovering a distinct oscillatory brain activity that suggests a transitional sleep stage, and attempts at elucidating the role of this oscillatory activity. The results of these studies reveal that sleep in even the smallest brains is not a single, simple phenomenon, but rather involves distinct stages with likely different roles.