External temperatures can affect our energy, emotions, and sleep quality. Scientists are still exploring how climate changes bear on human behavior.
Neurobiologists at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, may have uncovered genetic underpinnings influencing the bodys adaptations to climate.
Their recently published study in the journal Current Biology found a distinct thermometer circuit in the fruit fly brain triggered by hot temperatures. It follows a 2020 paper that identified a cold thermometer circuit.
Lead author Marco Gallio, Ph.D., an associate professor of neurobiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University, told Medical News Today:
People may choose to take an afternoon nap on a hot day, and in some parts of the world this is a cultural norm, but what do you choose and what is programmed into you? Of course, its not culture in flies, so there actually might be a very strong underlying biological mechanism that is overlooked in humans.
Medical News Today discussed this research with Dr. Gallio and asked why he chose to examine the fruit fly (Drosophila).
The professor mentioned that sleep is universal throughout the animal kingdom. He also shared that 60% of the insects genes are the same as those in humans.
The common fly appears all around the world due to having a close association with people. Its favorite temperature 77 degrees Fahrenheit is also close to that of many humans.
Dr. Gallio said that fruit flies are gaining momentum in research because they show an array of complex behaviors like people. Yet, they do all that in a brain that is only made up of 100,000 brain cells.
On the other hand, the human brain holds about 86 billion brain cells.
In his article, Ode to the fruit fly: tiny lab subject crucial to basic research, Dr. Gallio wrote that our related anatomy and physiology make the flies ideal for designing experiments of significance to animals and humans alike.
The Northwestern University study draws on a 10-year project that produced the connectome, the first full map of neural pathways in an animal.
The connectome allowed the researchers to analyze all the possible neural connections for every fruit fly brain cell. The present study helped them observe how information in the brain travels from one point to another.
The flys antenna has three organs called sensilla, each containing one hot- and one cold-activated neuron.
The flys head also contains anterior cell (AC) neurons that respond to heat and cold. This research is the first to identify these absolute heat receptors.
During this study, Dr. Gallio and his colleagues noticed that the AC neurons sensitive to heat are part of a wider network that controls sleep.
When the hot circuit was activated by temperatures above 77 degrees Fahrenheit, the cells triggering midday sleep stay on longer. This leads to longer midday sleep, helping the flies avoid movement during the warmest part of the day.
Matthew Walker, Ph.D., who was not involved in this study, is an author and professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley. Dr. Walkers research focuses on sleep and human health.
In a 2019 podcast, Dr. Walker said that temperature is as powerful a trigger of sleep organization and sleep depth as light is. For you to fall asleep and stay asleep, your body needs to drop its core temperature by about one degree Celsius or about two degrees Fahrenheit. Thats the reason that you will always find it easier to fall asleep in a room thats too cold than too hot, because the room thats too cold is at least taking you in the right thermal direction for good sleep []
The sleep expert also discussed hunter-gatherer tribe studies that indicate the influence of temperature changes on sleep behavior. The way of life in such pre-industrial societies has remained constant over thousands of years.
Dr. Walker said that these people dont typically retire for the night immediately after the sun sets. Rather, the tribes go to bed several hours later when the ambient temperature falls.
Dr. Walker commented: That seems to be a thermal trigger for them getting sleepy and falling asleep. And [] they typically wake up 15 to 20 minutes before dawn. So, its not light that seems to be necessarily the trigger instigating the awakening. Its actually the rise of temperature, and thats on the circadian rhythm. So, what is entraining us to our natural sleep rhythms is both temperature and light.
Jade Wu, Ph.D., a sleep psychologist, researcher, and speaker who was not involved in the study, told MNT that she was curious whether the studys findings could extend to humans.
We know that when its too hot, humans actually have a harder time with sleep, which appears to be opposite to what happened with the flies in this study, Dr. Wu said.
Dr. Gallio agreed that humans tend to sleep better when its cold.
Dr. Gallio stressed that his work aimed to discover the basic principles driving why we sleep and how temperature affects behavior.
We dont know much about these principles, but we should be spending [more] money on [learning about] those very principles before we try to [focus on] the applied side [of research], he said.
Michael Alpert, first author and post-doctoral researcher with Dr. Gallio, added: We identified one neuron that could be a site of integration for the effects of hot and cold temperatures on sleep and activity in Drosophila. This would be the start of interesting follow-up studies.
Dr. Gallio also told MNT that he hopes his work could inspire others to take the research further, eventually to human investigations.
For instance, this research opens the door to determining specific sensory circuits for brain regions for sleep in humans.
The professor said that his team also wants to consider the effects of climate change on behavior and physiology.
Read the original post:
Why heat makes you feel tired and sleepy, according to science - Medical News Today
- The Smell Of Death Has A Strange Influence On Human Behavior - IFLScience - October 26th, 2024 [October 26th, 2024]
- "WEIRD" in psychology literature oversimplifies the global diversity of human behavior. - Psychology Today - October 2nd, 2024 [October 2nd, 2024]
- Scientists issue warning about increasingly alarming whale behavior due to human activity - Orcasonian - September 23rd, 2024 [September 23rd, 2024]
- Does AI adoption call for a change in human behavior? - Fast Company - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Dogs can smell human stress and it alters their own behavior, study reveals - New York Post - July 26th, 2024 [July 26th, 2024]
- Trajectories of brain and behaviour development in the womb, at birth and through infancy - Nature.com - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- AI model predicts human behavior from our poor decision-making - Big Think - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- ZkSync defends Sybil measures as Binance offers own ZK token airdrop - TradingView - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- On TikTok, Goldendoodles Are People Trapped in Dog Bodies - The New York Times - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- 10 things only introverts find irritating, according to psychology - Hack Spirit - June 18th, 2024 [June 18th, 2024]
- 32 animals that act weirdly human sometimes - Livescience.com - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- NBC Is Using Animals To Push The LGBT Agenda. Here Are 5 Abhorrent Animal Behaviors Humans Shouldn't Emulate - The Daily Wire - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- New study examines the dynamics of adaptive autonomy in human volition and behavior - PsyPost - May 24th, 2024 [May 24th, 2024]
- 30000 years of history reveals that hard times boost human societies' resilience - Livescience.com - May 12th, 2024 [May 12th, 2024]
- Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes Actors Had Trouble Reverting Back to Human - CBR - May 12th, 2024 [May 12th, 2024]
- The need to feel safe is a core driver of human behavior. - Psychology Today - April 15th, 2024 [April 15th, 2024]
- AI learned how to sway humans by watching a cooperative cooking game - Science News Magazine - March 29th, 2024 [March 29th, 2024]
- We can't combat climate change without changing minds. This psychology class explores how. - Northeastern University - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Bees Reveal a Human-Like Collective Intelligence We Never Knew Existed - ScienceAlert - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Franciscan AI expert warns of technology becoming a 'pseudo-religion' - Detroit Catholic - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Freshwater resources at risk thanks to human behavior - messenger-inquirer - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Astrocytes Play Critical Role in Regulating Behavior - Neuroscience News - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Freshwater resources at risk thanks to human behavior - Sunnyside Sun - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Freshwater resources at risk thanks to human behavior - Blue Mountain Eagle - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- 7 Books on Human Behavior - Times Now - March 11th, 2024 [March 11th, 2024]
- Euphemisms increasingly used to soften behavior that would be questionable in direct language - Norfolk Daily News - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Linking environmental influences, genetic research to address concerns of genetic determinism of human behavior - Phys.org - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Emerson's Insight: Navigating the Three Fundamental Desires of Human Nature - The Good Men Project - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- Dogs can recognize a bad person and there's science to prove it. - GOOD - February 29th, 2024 [February 29th, 2024]
- What Is Organizational Behavior? Everything You Need To Know - MarketWatch - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- Overcoming 'Otherness' in Scientific Research Commentary in Nature Human Behavior USA - English - USA - PR Newswire - February 4th, 2024 [February 4th, 2024]
- "Reichman University's behavioral economics program: Navigating human be - The Jerusalem Post - January 19th, 2024 [January 19th, 2024]
- Of trees, symbols of humankind, on Tu BShevat - The Jewish Star - January 19th, 2024 [January 19th, 2024]
- Tapping Into The Power Of Positive Psychology With Acclaimed Expert Niyc Pidgeon - GirlTalkHQ - January 19th, 2024 [January 19th, 2024]
- Don't just make resolutions, 'be the architect of your future self,' says Stanford-trained human behavior expert - CNBC - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Never happy? Humans tend to imagine how life could be better : Short Wave - NPR - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- People who feel unhappy but hide it well usually exhibit these 9 behaviors - Hack Spirit - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- If you display these 9 behaviors, you're being passive aggressive without realizing it - Hack Spirit - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- Men who are relationship-oriented by nature usually display these 9 behaviors - Hack Spirit - December 31st, 2023 [December 31st, 2023]
- A look at the curious 'winter break' behavior of ChatGPT-4 - ReadWrite - December 14th, 2023 [December 14th, 2023]
- Neuroscience and Behavior Major (B.S.) | College of Liberal Arts - UNH's College of Liberal Arts - December 14th, 2023 [December 14th, 2023]
- The positive health effects of prosocial behaviors | News | Harvard ... - HSPH News - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- The valuable link between succession planning and skills - Human Resource Executive - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Okinawa's ants show reduced seasonal behavior in areas with more human development - Phys.org - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- How humans use their sense of smell to find their way | Penn Today - Penn Today - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Wrestling With Evil in the World, or Is It Something Else? - Psychiatric Times - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Shimmying like electric fish is a universal movement across species - Earth.com - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Why do dogs get the zoomies? - Care.com - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- How Stuart Robinson's misconduct went overlooked for years - Washington Square News - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Whatchamacolumn: Homeless camps back in the news - News-Register - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Stunted Growth in Infants Reshapes Brain Function and Cognitive ... - Neuroscience News - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Social medias role in modeling human behavior, societies - kuwaittimes - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- The gift of reformation - Living Lutheran - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- After pandemic, birds are surprisingly becoming less fearful of humans - Study Finds - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Nick Treglia: The trouble with fairness and the search for truth - 1819 News - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Science has an answer for why people still wave on Zoom - Press Herald - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Orcas are learning terrifying new behaviors. Are they getting smarter? - Livescience.com - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Augmenting the Regulatory Worker: Are We Making Them Better or ... - BioSpace - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- What "The Creator", a film about the future, tells us about the present - InCyber - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- WashU Expert: Some parasites turn hosts into 'zombies' - The ... - Washington University in St. Louis - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Is secondhand smoke from vapes less toxic than from traditional ... - Missouri S&T News and Research - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- How apocalyptic cults use psychological tricks to brainwash their ... - Big Think - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Human action pushing the world closer to environmental tipping ... - Morung Express - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- What We Get When We Give | Harvard Medicine Magazine - Harvard University - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Psychological Anime: 12 Series You Should Watch - But Why Tho? - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- Roosters May Recognize Their Reflections in Mirrors, Study Suggests - Smithsonian Magazine - October 27th, 2023 [October 27th, 2023]
- June 30 Zodiac: Sign, Traits, Compatibility and More - AZ Animals - May 13th, 2023 [May 13th, 2023]
- Indiana's Funding Ban for Kinsey Sex-Research Institute Threatens ... - The Chronicle of Higher Education - May 13th, 2023 [May 13th, 2023]
- Have AI Chatbots Developed Theory of Mind? What We Do and Do ... - The New York Times - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Scoop: Coming Up on a New Episode of HOUSEBROKEN on FOX ... - Broadway World - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Here's five fall 2023 classes to fire up your bookbag - Duke Chronicle - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- McDonald: Aspen's like living in a 'Pullman town' - The Aspen Times - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Children Who Are Exposed to Awe-Inspiring Art Are More Likely to Become Generous, Empathic Adults, a New Study Says - artnet News - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- DataDome Raises Another $42M to Prevent Bot Attacks in Real ... - AlleyWatch - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Observing group-living animals with drones may help us understand ... - Innovation Origins - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Mann named director of School of Public and Population Health - Boise State University - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Irina Solomonova's bad behavior is the star of Love Is Blind - My Imperfect Life - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Health quotes Dill in article about rise of Babesiosis - UMaine News ... - University of Maine - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- There's still time for the planet, Goodall says, if we stay hopeful - University of Wisconsin-Madison - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Relationship between chronotypes and aggression in adolescents ... - BMC Psychiatry - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]