Context-specific comparison of sleep acquisition systems in Drosophila.

Sleep is conserved across phyla and can be measured through electrophysiological or behavioral characteristics. The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, provides an excellent model for investigating the genetic and neural mechanisms that regulate sleep. Multiple systems exist for measuring fly activity, including video analysis and single-beam (SB) or multi-beam (MB) infrared (IR)-based monitoring.