A fly's tiny brain may hold huge human benefits

“We have developed a strategy to address how this matching occurs, so we can ‘turn that crank’ over and over again. It allows us to answer the questions, ‘What gene is it" How does it function" How does it interact with other proteins"’ We can find brand-new, completely unexpected things,” Zars said.

This drosophila, a type of fruit fly, is displayed next to a US dime for size comparison. Click here for more information.

A major goal of neuroscience is to discover and study memory-forming structures within a brain. Zars said he works with Drosophila because they are a well-established genetic model, have a relatively less complex brain than the mouse or human (250,000 neurons versus 100 billion neurons), and have a broad repertoire of behaviors.

Memory in the flies was tested using a specialized chamber in which single flies were allowed to wander freely. The chamber was outfitted with heating elements. When the fly moved to a particular side, the whole chamber rapidly heated to an uncomfortable temperature. The flies eventually learned, or remembered, to avoid that half if brain “circuitry” is functioning properly. A mutation in certain flies, however, altered the levels of serotonin and dopamine, which resulted in lower memory scores.

“This research is important because by studying a simple brain it will help us ultimately understand complex neural systems," Zars said. Zars’ study was published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.