![]() A) Taurine treatment decreases locomotor activity. ![]() Locomotor activity in taurine- (T) and caffeine- (C) treated flies. GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) caffeine (trimethylxanthine) energy drinks locomotor activity sleep taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid). This intriguing enhancement of caffeine action by low doses of taurine may account for the presence of both compounds in energy-promoting drinks such as Red Bull® and Monster®. A high taurine:caffeine ratio promotes sleep, while a low ratio of taurine:caffeine inhibits sleep to a greater extent than the equivalent amount of caffeine alone. Flies treated with both caffeine and taurine exhibit two differential effects which depend upon the ratio of taurine to caffeine. Our results show that taurine increases sleep, while caffeine, as previously reported, attenuates sleep. At 0.75%, taurine also increases total sleep by 50%. Treatment with taurine at 0.1% to 1.5% reduces locomotor activity by 28% to 86%, and shifts it from diurnal to nocturnal. We show here that flies receiving a low dose of caffeine (0.01%) increase locomotor activity by 25%, and decrease total sleep by 15%. ![]() Taurine is a GABA receptor agonist, which is inhibitory to neuronal firing. It has been shown that caffeine, as the most widely used psychostimulant, can boost arousal through the dopamine pathway in the mushroom bodies of flies. ![]() We investigated their effects on sleep-wake control in constant darkness using the fruit fly Drosophila as a model system. Caffeine and taurine are two major neuromodulators present in large quantities in many popular energy drinks. ![]()
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