|
|
"A comprehensive, collaborative elections resource."
|
Learning From the Spurned and Tipsy Fruit Fly
|
|---|
| Parent(s) |
Issue
|
| Contributor | WesternDem |
| Last Edited | WesternDem Mar 15, 2012 11:08pm |
| Logged |
0
|
| Category | Study |
| Author | BENEDICT CAREY |
| Media | Newspaper - New York Times |
| News Date | Friday, March 16, 2012 05:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | Fruit flies apparently self-medicate just like many humans do, drowning their sorrows or frustrations for some of the same reasons, scientists reported Thursday. Male flies subjected to what amounted to a long tease — in a glass tube, not a dance club — preferred food spiked with alcohol far more than male flies that were able to mate.
The study, posted online in the journal Science, suggests that some elements of the brain’s reward system have changed very little during evolution, and these include some of the mechanisms that support addiction. Levels of a brain chemical that is active in regulating appetite predicted the flies’ thirst for alcohol. A similar chemical is linked to drinking in humans. |
| Share |
|
|
2¢
|
|
| Article | Read Full Article |
|
| Date |
Category |
Headline |
Article |
Contributor |
|
|
