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The Drosophila brain, which has similarities to that of humans, is being studied to understand the mechanisms of memory and to advance research on Alzheimer’s.
For 30 years, to better understand Alzheimer’s disease, fruit flies have been studied. The memory of these midges, which are easy to breed, is observed. “Man and Drosophila have a common ancestor, who lived 600 million years ago, who already had a brain. The Drosophila brain works on the same principle as the human brain”explains Thomas Preat, researcher at CNRS/ESPCI-Paris, supported by the foundation for medical research.
Mutant flies suffering from Alzheimer’s disease are created in order to study the mechanisms of memory loss. After fasting for 24 hours, the flies received a sugar associated with an odor. Their memory is tested to see if the fruit flies will move towards this smell or towards another, neutral one. With a microscope, the neurons active when memory is formed can be observed. The researchers’ hypothesis is that Alzheimer’s disease is linked to a lack of energy supply in certain regions of the brain.
The Foundation for Medical Research
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