The Effects of Central Nervous System Stimulants on Drosophila melanogaster Reproduction

Abstract Stimulant drugs are used everyday by people around the world. The effect stimulants have on developing human fetuses is widely unknown. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster has become a valuable system to model the complex effects and properties of drugs in mammals. In this study, Drosophila is used to analyze the effects of stimulant exposure on reproduction to determine if stimulants cause a significant decrease in the number of offspring produced by parent generations. Caffeine, nicotine, and pseudoephedrine hydrochloride were found to significantly decrease the number of offspring in experimental populations. Further experimentation is necessary to understand the mechanisms underlying these results.