Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have found that activating a receptor for the neurotransmitter dopamine can erase sleep-deprivation-caused learning deficits in fruit flies.

The research is the first to show that specific molecular changes in the brain can influence a function of sleep. While the fruit fly receptor finding won’t translate directly into advances in human sleep research, it does suggest that dopamine may play a more important role in sleep and learning than previously thought.