A study last week in the journal Science found that Drosophila fruit flies needed more sleep after spending time around a lot of other flies or learning something that produced a long-term memory.
Indrani Ganguly-Fitzgerald of the Neurosciences Institute in San Diego and Jeff Donlea and Paul J. Shaw of Washington University in St. Louis kept fruit flies either alone or in groups of about 30 immediately after hatching. On Day 5, they watched the flies sleep.
The ones raised in isolation slept about 13 hours a day, while those from the "socially enriched" environment slept about 16 hours.
The reason for sleep isn't fully known, but there is some evidence it helps consolidate learning and memory in the brain. Other experiments these researchers did supported that theory. ...
| • | Science Notebook
The Washington Post, Monday, Sept. 25, 2006 Byline: David Brown |
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