Sleep deprivation specifically impairs short-term olfactory memory in Drosophila.
OBJECTIVE
Sleep is crucial to memory consolidation in humans and other animals; however, the effect of insufficient sleep on subsequent learning and memory remains largely elusive.


METHODS
Learning and memory after 1-day sleep deprivation (slpD) was evaluated using Pavlovian olfactory conditioning in Drosophila, and locomotor activity was measured using the Drosophila Activity Monitoring System in a 12:12 light-dark cycle.


RESULTS
We found that slpD specifically impaired 1-h memory in wild type Canton-S flies, and this effect could persist for at least 2 h. However, alternative stresses (heat stress, oxidative stress, starvation, and rotation stress) did not result in a similar effect and left the flies' memory intact. Mechanistic studies demonstrated that flies with either silenced transmission of the mushroom body (MB) during slpD or down-regulated cAMP levels in the MB demonstrated no slpD-induced 1-h memory impairment.


CONCLUSIONS
We found that slpD specifically impaired 1-h memory in Drosophila, and either silencing of MB transmission during slpD or down-regulation of the cAMP level in the MB protected the flies from slpD-induced impairment.
Li
Xinjian
X
Institute of Neuroscience, State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
Yu
Feng
F
Guo
Aike
A
D000818:Animals; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004330:Drosophila; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology*; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D024521:Mushroom Bodies / Q000503:physiopathology; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D013312:Stress, Physiological; D013997:Time Factors