Assessment of voluntary drug and alcohol intake in Drosophila melanogaster using a modified one-tube capillary feeding assay

IF 2.7 4区医学 Q2 BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS

Journal of Neuroscience Methods Pub Date : 2025-02-06 DOI:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2025.110388

Mallory Karr , Arti Patel , William Klipec , Christopher L. Kliethermes

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

The capillary feeding assay measures intakes of solutions containing ethanol and other drugs of abuse in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Existing single-tube and two-choice variations of the assay conflate drug intake with nutrient intake and utilize conditions that decrease lifespan of flies, suggesting these conditions might serve as a physiological stressor.

New method

The current experiments used a novel variation of a single-tube capillary feeding assay with flies maintained on standard, semi-soft food throughout the experiment, and offered a drug in a moderately preferred sucrose solution. Preference or aversion for a drug-containing solution was assessed relative to a control sucrose solution.

Results

We found concentration-dependent preferences for solutions containing ethanol or fencamfamine, aversions to solutions containing amphetamine, caffeine, muscimol, nicotine, pentobarbital, or picrotoxin, and a nominal aversion to solutions containing methamphetamine. Some aversions were found only in male flies, although low overall intake by female flies likely contributed to this apparent sex-specific effect.

Comparison with existing method(s)

The continuous availability of semi-soft food in our assay to decouple the need for nutrients from intake of the drug-containing solution. In addition, our assay uses only a single capillary tube per vial of flies, making it less resource intensive than two-choice capillary feeding assays.

Conclusions

The availability of standard food in our modified, one-tube capillary feeding assay should prove to be useful modification of the capillary feeding assay for studies of drug intake.

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来源期刊

Journal of Neuroscience Methods 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

7.10

自引率

3.30%

发文量

226

审稿时长

52 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Neuroscience Methods publishes papers that describe new methods that are specifically for neuroscience research conducted in invertebrates, vertebrates or in man. Major methodological improvements or important refinements of established neuroscience methods are also considered for publication. The Journal''s Scope includes all aspects of contemporary neuroscience research, including anatomical, behavioural, biochemical, cellular, computational, molecular, invasive and non-invasive imaging, optogenetic, and physiological research investigations.