Device:  Drosophila Activity Monitor (DAM)

Objective: The DAM system enables us to estimate various important parameters for analyzing fly sleep. The DAM device consists of 32 holes, each fitted with a glass tube. Fly food is loaded on one side of the tube (Fig. A). An infrared sensor within the DAM system detects when a fly crosses the center of the glass tube. It counts the number of round trips made by the fly and records this data on a PC connected to the DAM system via a LAN cable (Fig. B).