Imaging analysis of clock neurons: light buffers the wake-promoting effect of dopamine
Environmental light suppresses the wake-promoting effects of dopamine in fly brains. A subset of clock neurons, the 10 large lateral-ventral neurons (l-LNvs), are wake-promoting and respond to dopamine, octopamine as well as light. Behavioral and imaging analyses suggested that dopamine is a stronger arousal signal than octopamine. Light exposure not only suppressed the l-LNv responses but also synchronized responses of neighboring l-LNvs. The regulatory mechanisms described here may contribute to the control of sleep stability while still allowing behavioral flexibility.
Aug 22, 2011