Mechanism underlying inhibitory control
Erick Saldes, Paul Sabandal, Youngcho Kim, John M. Sabandal, and Kyung-An Han
Department of Biological Sciences, BBRC Neuroscience/Metabolic Disorders, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX USA
The ability to suppress ongoing motor actions that are no longer appropriate is a fundamental feature of executive function supporting flexible and goal-oriented behaviors. This inhibitory control is known as response inhibition and has been studied in mammals but not in non-mammalian species. We have identified that the fruit fly Drosophila displays response inhibition. A go/no-go test is typically used to measure response inhibition in human subjects and requires subjects to produce a motor response when cued to do so (go) or otherwise withhold it (no-go). To study response inhibition in Drosophila, we developed a fly version of the go/no-go test and found dopamine as an important neuromodulator for inhibitory control. When subjected to a go/no-go test, the fmn mutants lacking dopamine transporter initially withheld movement upon exposure to salient stimuli but, within a minute, exhibited flying behavior. The fmn mutants have impaired sleep thus we examined additional sleep mutants Sh and HK. Similar to fmn, they also displayed impaired response inhibition. Studies are in progress to clarify the role of sleep in response inhibition and underlying mechanisms. Anomalous response inhibition is associated with numerous brain disorders but its underlying mechanisms are largely unknown. Our study may help fill the knowledge gap.