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The Journal of Neuroscience, September 17, 2008, 28(38):9377-9385; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3072-08a.2008

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Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Octopamine Regulates Sleep in Drosophila through Protein Kinase A-Dependent Mechanisms

Amanda Crocker and Amita Sehgal

Department of Neuroscience, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Amita Sehgal, Department of Neuroscience, Stemmler Hall, Room 232, 36th and Hamilton Walk, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Email: amita{at}mail.med.upenn.edu

Sleep is a fundamental process, but its regulation and function are still not well understood. The Drosophila model for sleep provides a powerful system to address the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying sleep and wakefulness. Here we show that a Drosophila biogenic amine, octopamine, is a potent wake-promoting signal. Mutations in the octopamine biosynthesis pathway produced a phenotype of increased sleep, which was restored to wild-type levels by pharmacological treatment with octopamine. Moreover, electrical silencing of octopamine-producing cells decreased wakefulness, whereas excitation of these neurons promoted wakefulness. Because protein kinase A (PKA) is a putative target of octopamine signaling and is also implicated in Drosophila sleep, we investigated its role in the effects of octopamine on sleep. We found that decreased PKA activity in neurons rendered flies insensitive to the wake-promoting effects of octopamine. However, this effect of PKA was not exerted in the mushroom bodies, a site previously associated with PKA action on sleep. These studies identify a novel pathway that regulates sleep in Drosophila.

Key words: Drosophila; octopamine; sleep; locomotion; norepinephrine; biogenic amine; arousal

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Received July 2, 2008; revised Aug. 1, 2008; accepted Aug. 1, 2008.

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Amita Sehgal, Department of Neuroscience, Stemmler Hall, Room 232, 36th and Hamilton Walk, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Email: amita{at}mail.med.upenn.edu

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E. M. Blumenthal Isoform- and cell-specific function of tyrosine decarboxylase in the Drosophila Malpighian tubule J. Exp. Biol., December 1, 2009; 212(23): 3802 - 3809. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. N. Wu, K. Ho, A. Crocker, Z. Yue, K. Koh, and A. Sehgal The Effects of Caffeine on Sleep in Drosophila Require PKA Activity, But Not the Adenosine Receptor J. Neurosci., September 2, 2009; 29(35): 11029 - 11037. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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