Sleep onset and duration uncoupled



Receptors producing synaptic inhibition regulate the time it takes to get to sleep. This work begins to dissect the biological mechanisms underlying the differences between various types of insomnia.

Drosophila are used as a model for understanding sleep because flies replicate many of the behavioral characteristics of mammalian sleep. This research has not yet produced evidence that the pathways targeted by insomnia drugs in humans are necessary for sleep in flies, however, casting doubt of the relevance of fly sleep as a model for human sleep.

Using genetics and pharmacology, Leslie Griffith and colleagues demonstrate that the biophysical properties of a particular inhibitory receptor influenced both falling and staying asleep in flies, but in different ways. Manipulating receptor desensitization only affected sleep onset, uncoupling the control of sleep initiation and maintenance.

This work further confirms the validity of Drosophila as a model of mammalian sleep and provides a biological explanation for a specific type of insomnia. Future studies exploring other aspects of sleep regulation involving inhibitory receptors may assist in better targeting of drugs designed to specifically influence one particular aspect of sleep without unnecessarily affecting other aspects.

Author contact:
Leslie Griffith (Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA)
Tel: +1 781 736 3125; E-mail: griffith@brandeis.edu