Alcohol’s Effect on Short Term Memory in Drosophila

Melanogaster

By Virginia Brodie

Need

http://www.nt.gov.au/health/healthdev/health_promotion/bushbook/volume2/chap1/body_alcohol.gif

• 14 million people in the United States suffer from alcoholism

• Long term drinking can lead to Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome

Knowledge Base-Alcohol

http://www.drgaryseeman.com/800px-Ethanol-3D-balls.png

Ethanol Alcohol- CH3CH2OH

http://www.jpp.krakow.pl/journal/archive/1203_s4/gfx/rys16_2.jpg

Alcohols Effect on the Brain

Knowledge Base- Short Term Memory

Foot -Shock

http://www.bcm.edu/labs/davis/researchprojects.htm

Olfactory Memory

Heberlein, Ulrike. "Genetics of Alcohol-Induced Behaviors in Drosophila." (2000).

http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh24-3/185-188.pdf

Inebriometer• Found that

Drosophila have similar intoxication patterns to humans

Laurie, C. C. "Genetic basis of the difference in alcohol dehydrogenase expression between Drosophila

melanogaster and Drosophila simulans." (1990). • Found that flies can develop tolerance to alcohol

http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/picrender.fcgi?artid=55235&blobtype=pdf

Adh gene and fragments

Moore, Monica. "Ethanol Intoxication in Drosophila:Genetic and Pharmacological Evidence

for Regulation by the cAMP Signaling Pathway." (1998).

• Found that the cAMP signaling system plays a role in meditating alcohols affects

http://www.northwestern.edu/neurobiology/faculty/allada2/gbbpapers/MooreHeberlein98.pdf

Comparison between Control and chpd Drosophila

Control and chpd

LaFerriere, 2008 "Genetic Dissociation of Ethanol Sensitivity and Memory Formation in Drosophila melanogaster

• Relation between ethanol sensitivity and learning mechanisms in Drosophila

• Laferriere, Holly, and Douglas J. Guarnieri. "Genetic Dissociation of Ethanol Sensitivity and Memory Formation in Drosophila melanogaster." (2008). Genetics. <http://www.genetics.org/cgi/content/full/178/4/1895/>.

Heat Box Test

http://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/9/5/349.full.pdf

HypothesisNull : The ethanol exposure will have no effect on the short term memory of Drosophila melanogaster.

Alternate: The Drosophila exposed to ethanol will have impaired short term memory, and the Drosophila who are not, will not (LaFerriere, 08).

Purpose

• The purpose of this experiment is to demonstrate the effects of alcohol exposure on short term memory in drosophila.

MethodologyAlcohol’s Effect on Short term Memory In Drosophila

Canton S- flies never exposed to alcohol

Canton S flies exposed to 200 proof ethanol

Flies shocked for 60-second intervals, 4 times, with 10 minutes in between, while simultaneously being pumped 3-octanol

5 hours later, the flies are lowered between 3-octanol (familiar scent) and 4- methycyclihexanol (unfamiliar), those that move away from the 3-oct are said to have formed short-term memory.

Data analyzed using a performance index, to show learning, and Chi Squared, to show the significance between the expected and observed data.

Flies placed at top of inebriometer while being pumped 200 proof ethanol, time elapsed for flies to reach bottom is measured

Training and Testing Apparatus

Photos taken by researcher

Budget

Vendor Cat # PageDescription Quantity Unit Price Toal priceCarolina 86-1283 811 95% Ethanol 3 $23.50 $70.50Lab Grass Telefactor S48 Square Pulse Stimulator 1Lab 1-millimeter flexible circut board 2Lab Elevator 1Lab Inebriometer 1

Do ability

• Olfactory training and testing apparatus is already in the lab

• Inebriometer is available in the lab• Training and testing process for

memory is already known

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Drosophila melanogaster." (2008). Genetics. <http://www.genetics.org/cgi/content/full/178/4/1895/>.• Laurie, C. C. "Genetic basis of the difference in alcohol dehydrogenase expression between Drosophila melanogaster and

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<http://www.springerlink.com/content/u0161w1781274g83/>.• Moore, Monica, and Jim DeZazzo. "Ethanol Intoxication in Drosophila:Genetic and Pharmacological Evidence for

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