A Drosophila model for age-associated changes in sleep:wake cycles
- 12 September 2006
- journal article
- Published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Vol. 103 (37), 13843-13847
- https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605903103
Abstract
One of the most consistent behavioral changes that occurs with age in humans is the loss of sleep consolidation. This can be quite disruptive and yet little is known about its underlying basis. To better understand the effects of aging on sleep:wake cycles, we sought to study this problem in Drosophila melanogaster, a powerful system for research on aging and behavior. By assaying flies of different ages as well as monitoring individual flies constantly over the course of their lifetime, we found that the strength of sleep:wake cycles decreased and that sleep became more fragmented with age in Drosophila. These changes in sleep:wake cycles became faster or slower with manipulations of ambient temperature that decreased or increased lifespan, respectively, demonstrating that they are a function of physiological rather than chronological age. The effect of temperature on lifespan was not mediated by changes in overall activity level or sleep amount. Flies treated with the oxidative stress-producing reagent paraquat showed a breakdown of sleep:wake cycles similar to that seen with aging, leading us to propose that the accumulation of oxidative damage with age contributes to the changes in rhythm and sleep. Together, these findings establish Drosophila as a valuable model for studying age-associated sleep fragmentation and breakdown of rhythm strength, and indicate that these changes in sleep:wake cycles are an integral part of the physiological aging process.Keywords
This publication has 60 references indexed in Scilit:
- The proteome of Toxoplasma gondii: integration with the genome provides novel insights into gene expression and annotationGenome Biology, 2008
- Determining the protein repertoire of Cryptosporidium parvum sporozoitesProteomics, 2008
- Pfam: clans, web tools and servicesNucleic Acids Research, 2006
- Dietary restriction, mortality trajectories, risk and damageMechanisms of Ageing and Development, 2005
- Genetic Evidence for a Role of CREB in Sustained Cortical ArousalJournal of Neurophysiology, 2003
- Cost-free longevity in mice?Nature, 2003
- IGF-1 receptor regulates lifespan and resistance to oxidative stress in miceNature, 2002
- Forkhead transcription factor FOXO3a protects quiescent cells from oxidative stressNature, 2002
- Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programsNucleic Acids Research, 1997
- Extension of Life-Span by Overexpression of Superoxide Dismutase and Catalase in Drosophila melanogasterScience, 1994