NEW YORK
In the Friday, March 16, 2012 issue of the journal Science, researchers say,
sexually deprived male fruit flies are driven to excessive alcohol consumption, drinking far more than comparable, sexually satisfied male flies.
Researchers propose a biological explanation for why sex-deprived flies are attracted to drinking alcohol.
If it proves true in people, it may help scientists find new medications to fight alcoholism.
What’s going on here?
They theorize that pleasurable activities like having sex boost the activity of brain circuits that use NPF, and that feels good.
If a fly is denied sex, the system goes into deficit, driving the fly to seek other rewarding activities such as drinking alcohol.
If this finding translates to humans, “one can say we could now understand why a negative experience, such as a sexual rejection, could drive somebody to drink”, said Ulrike Heberlein of the University of California, San Francisco, who led the research.
Note:
Fruit flies are a favorite lab animal in part because scientists have exquisite control over their biology. Here, the researchers were able to alter brain function to zero in on NPF’s role.
___
Online:
Video of flies: http://bit.ly/xN2w3e
Science: http://www.sciencemag.org
___
Malcolm Ritter can be followed at http://twitter.com/malcolmritter
In the Friday, March 16, 2012 issue of the journal Science, researchers say,
sexually deprived male fruit flies are driven to excessive alcohol consumption, drinking far more than comparable, sexually satisfied male flies.
Researchers propose a biological explanation for why sex-deprived flies are attracted to drinking alcohol.
If it proves true in people, it may help scientists find new medications to fight alcoholism.
What’s going on here?
The researchers implicates a substance in the fly brain called NPF.
They theorize that pleasurable activities like having sex boost the activity of brain circuits that use NPF, and that feels good.
If a fly is denied sex, the system goes into deficit, driving the fly to seek other rewarding activities such as drinking alcohol.
Note:
Fruit flies are a favorite lab animal in part because scientists have exquisite control over their biology. Here, the researchers were able to alter brain function to zero in on NPF’s role.
___
Online:
Video of flies: http://bit.ly/xN2w3e
Science: http://www.sciencemag.org
___
Malcolm Ritter can be followed at http://twitter.com/malcolmritter
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