Liz Brown's lab

Liz Brown's lab explores the genetic and neural mechanisms that regulate sleep and apetite, and how they may change across the lifespan and in models of neurodegenerative disease. Her lab investigates the mechanisms by which diet regulates sleep quality. Lab research has shown that the composition of macronutrients in food affects sleep duration, sleep depth and metabolic rate. The lab also investigates how dietary macronutrients are perceived by the taste system. They have shown that flies sense fatty acids through the same neurons that detect sugars. They are investigating how they are able to discriminate between these different taste modalities. Deficits in both sleep and chemosensory processing occur during normal aging, as well as several neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s Disease. In parallel, the lab is investigating how these behaviors are modified by aging and in a fly model of AD. We use multiple approaches, including genetic screening, behavioral analysis, molecular-genetics, and brain imaging techniques with the goal of uncovering fundamental principles that regulate behavior.