Drosophila model for in vivo pharmacological analgesia research

Fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) are typically used for genetic studies but they also could be employed for neuropharmacological research. Therefore, we designed an apparatus and developed methods to investigate how injecting antinociceptive drugs, i.e., a gamma-aminobutyric acid B receptor agonist, to adult flies affects their avoidance of noxious heat stimuli. We found a drug-induced dose-dependent increased threshold for heat avoidance and we propose Drosophila as an ethically acceptable animal model for in vivo pharmacological analgesia research.