Abstract
Drosophila melanogaster, commonly known as the fruit fly, is one of the most widely used model organisms in biological studies. Although Drosophila differs significantly from vertebrates in terms of their gross appearance, the genes and neural circuits that control essential behaviors are functionally conserved during evolution. In addition, Drosophila is highly amenable for genetic manipulations, making it ideal to dissect genetic and circuitry underpinnings of normal behavior, and establish disease models that can largely recapitulate the pathological hallmarks and behavioral changes in humans. Therefore, the power of Drosophila genetics and the large repertoire of Drosophila behaviors provide an unprecedented opportunity for in-depth mechanistic studies of human disease pathology as well as identification of potential therapeutic drug targets through large-scale behavioral screens. In this chapter, we will discuss the well-established Drosophila behavioral assays, including locomotion, learning & memory, sleep, and grooming, and highlight their application in Drosophila models of human diseases.