Autism-linked genes alter sleep conduct, and extra
Sleeping flies: Gene variants linked to autism may also give rise to differences n sleep behaviors, according to two new Drosophila studies. In one study, flies with FOXP variants exhibit “severely fragmented and reduced sleep,” in addition to disruptions in circadian rhythms. In the other, a preprint, investigators engineered flies with NLGN3 variants and found altered sleep patterns, although they describe mechanistic differences among the three variants they tested—some disrupted synaptic development, and others altered synaptic function.
