Search tips Search criteria    Nat Neurosci. Author manuscript;
available in PMC Dec 17, 2008. Published in final edited form
as: PMCID: PMC2604818 Soporific signaling how flies sleep
through the night Christopher S Colwell Christopher S Colwell,
Christopher S. Colwell is in the Department of Psychiatry and
Biobehavioral Sciences, Laboratory of Circadian Neurobiology,
University of California Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Plaza, Los
Angeles, California 90024-1759, USA. e-mail: ccolwell/at/ The
mechanisms of sleep have been studied in Drosophila
melanogaster, which show behaviors reminiscent of sleep in
vertebrates. A new study identifies a growth factor signaling
pathway involved in sleep regulation and consolidation in this
model. Inhibiting this pathway causes a sleep pattern that is
similar to insomnia in humans. A good night’s sleep is hard to
come by. All too often, my nights are spent looking up at the
ceiling thinking about questions that I’m not sure I want
answered. Will my grant application finally be f