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Soporific signaling: how flies sleep through the night

Nature Neuroscience volume 10, pages 1079–1080 (2007)Cite this article

The mechanisms of sleep have been studied in Drosophila melanogaster, which show behaviors reminiscent of sleep in vertebrates. A new study identifies a growth factor signaling pathway involved in sleep regulation and consolidation in this model. Inhibiting this pathway causes a sleep pattern that is similar to insomnia in humans.

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Figure 1: Proposed role of extracellular signal–regulated kinase (ERK) in the regulation of sleep in Drosophila.

Kim Caesar

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Christopher S. Colwell is in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Laboratory of Circadian Neurobiology, University of California Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90024-1759, USA. ccolwell@mednet.ucla.edu,

    Christopher S Colwell

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  1. Christopher S Colwell
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Colwell, C. Soporific signaling: how flies sleep through the night. Nat Neurosci 10, 1079–1080 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn0907-1079

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