Mechanisms involved in age-related memory impairment and sleep in Drosophila

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As we age, we suffer a decrease in memory. This phenomenon is known as age-related memory impairment (AMI). AMI is a serious social and medical problem, and it becomes more severe as we age. To understand the causes of AMI, we studied it in Drosophila. We found that aging causes an increase in a protein, pyruvate carboxylase (PC). PC is found in glia, cells that interact with neurons. Increasing PC activity in glia inhibits production D-serine, a neuromodulator that regulates neuronal activity. Feeding D-serine to old flies decreases AMI. This indicates that decreased glial production of the neuromodulator D-serine is a cause of AMI.In a second project, we studied sleep in Drosophila. Sleep is essential for many organisms, but its regulation is still unclear. We found that sleep is regulated by the Ca2+/calmodulin signaling pathway, a pathway known to control many biological processes. Our results suggest a mechanism through which sleep may be linked to other biological processes.