Daily changes in pain response in fruit flies

Behavioral responses to noxious heat in Drosophila melanogaster exhibit significant daily variation.

• Daily variation in responses to harmful stimuli may occur in non-mammalian species, such as insects.
• Null mutants lacking the clock genes per and tim do not show daily variation in their nociceptive responses.
• Calcium responses in peripheral nociceptive neurons change throughout the day, suggesting regulation by the clock gene.
• The findings indicate that sensory systems, including nociception, may function with distinct temporal patterns.

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