From Caltech
Fruit flies display a primitive, emotion-like behavior -- a frantic reaction to puffs of air -- that may provide valuable information about humans, especially children with disorders such as hyperactivity and attention deficit. Through a series of clever experiment, mathematical modeling and an understanding of the insect's genes, researchers say that the flies exhibiting a hypersensitivity to the stimulus of the puffs of air had a mutated receptor in their brains affecting the chemical dopamine, which has been linked to reductions in impulsive behavior, poor attention and hyperactivity. While some researchers have sought to show that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) also is linked with learning disabilities, at least in the fruit flies, these were found to be separate brain issues in the fruit fly, suggesting that in humans, treatment might better occur with two different medications, rather than one broad-spectrum pharmaceutical with many side effects.
Puffs of air send some fruit flies into a snit, offering key insights on genes, brains, dopamine
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