Sleep Deprivation Does Not Influence Photic Resetting of Circadian Activity Rhythms in Drosophila

Previous investigations in humans and rodent animal models have assessed the interplay of sleep in the circadian system’s phase responses to nighttime light exposure. The resulting data have been mixed, but generally support a modulatory role for sleep in circadian photic resetting (not an absolute requirement). Drosophila have been historically used to provide important insights in the sleep and circadian sciences. However, no experiments to date have evaluated how immediate sleep need or recent sleep history affects their pacemaker’s phase readjustments to light. We did so in the current study by (1) forcing separate groups of animals to stay awake for 1 or 4 h after they were shown a broadspectrum pulse (15 min during the first half of the night, 950 lux), or (2) placing them on a restricted sleep schedule for a week before light presentation without any subsequent sleep disruption. Forced sleep restriction, whether acute or chronic, did not alter the size of light-induced phase shifts. These data are consistent with observations made in other diurnal animals and raise the possibility, more broadly, that phototherapies applied during sleep—such as may be necessary during the winter months—may still be efficacious in individuals experiencing sleep-continuity problems such as insomnia.