Behavioral characterization of Canton S (B) flies after cocaine exposure. (A) Negative geotaxis. The 7.5-cm climb time for each fly was measured. n = 120 (♀control), 114 (♀cocaine), 141 (♂control), 128 (♂cocaine). Horizontal lines represent means with standard error. Male flies exposed to cocaine took longer on average to climb compared to controls. (*) P = 0.0042; two-tailed Student's t-test. (B) Startle response. The percent time out of 45 sec that each fly spent moving following a 42-cm drop was measured. n = 155 (♀control), 145 (♀cocaine), 120 (♂control), 123 (♂cocaine). Horizontal lines represent means with standard error. Flies exposed to cocaine spent less time moving on average than controls. For females, (***) P = 4.68 × 10−6; for males, (***) P = 7.62 × 10−13; two-tailed Student's t-test. (C) Seizures and grooming activity during negative geotaxis. The percent of flies that exhibited seizures or grooming activity during the negative geotaxis assay after exposure to cocaine was measured. n = 142 (♀control), 141 (♀cocaine), 166 (♂control), 161 (♂cocaine). Both females and males exposed to cocaine exhibited seizure activity more than controls. For females, (*) P = 0.0361; for males seizure, (***) P = 0.0007; Fisher's exact test. Males exposed to cocaine also exhibited excessive grooming activity more than controls (grooming: [***] P = 0.0007; Fisher's exact test), but females did not show statistically significant differences. (D) Seizures and grooming activity during the startle response. The percent of flies that exhibited seizures or grooming activity during the startle assay after exposure to cocaine was measured. n = 155 (♀control), 145 (♀cocaine), 120 (♂control), 123 (♂cocaine). Female flies exposed to cocaine exhibited more seizure activity than controls ([*] P = 0.0121; Fisher's exact test), whereas male flies exposed to cocaine exhibited more grooming activity than control ([***] P = 0.00001; Fisher's exact test).
