THE EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE ON ADULT BEHAVIORS IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Open Access
- Author:
- Sandirasegarane, Sandeep
- Area of Honors:
- Biology
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dr. Kyung An Han, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Kyung An Han, Thesis Supervisor
Richard Cyr, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Drosophila
developmental ethanol exposure
fetal alcohol syndrome
ethanol sensitivity
eclosion clock
locomotor activity
cocaine sensitivity - Abstract:
- Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is caused by maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy. Children affected with FAS exhibit growth deficiencies, distorted facial features, and central nervous system (CNS) dysfunction. Due to the relatively low tolerance threshold of the neuronal precursors for alcohol, the CNS experiences greater damage than any other part of the developing embryo. The neurological deficits associated with the syndrome lead to the impairment of cognitive and executive functions, learning and memory, and motor functions. In this study, I explored the effects of developmental ethanol exposure on adult behaviors in Drosophila melanogaster. The behaviors studied in my research include ethanol sensitivity, eclosion time, locomotor activity, and cocaine sensitivity. Ethanol administration on Drosophila pupae, the critical developmental period for brain development, did not affect eclosion clock or cocaine sensitivity, but had the significant effects on sensitivity to the sedative effect of ethanol in adults, and on mechanical stimulus-induced locomotor behavior in a sex-specific manner. While pupal ethanol exposure did not affect the locomotor activity of adult male flies, the fine motor control of adult female flies was compromised. The mechanistic studies of ethanol’s effects on CNS development in Drosophila should enhance our understanding of the physiological and cellular mechanisms underlying FAS.