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The Effects of Caffeine and Theobromine on the Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms in Drosophila

CSEF · 2026 Medicine & Physiology (Track 2) (Senior Division)

Zoe Sellers

Overview

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) remains a major public health concern in the United States, and it affects approximately half of individuals with chronic alcohol dependence. Withdrawal is associated with AUDs and typically involves symptoms that affect body control, aggression, and cognitive function. Drosophila were used as a model organism for this experiment, and in order to test withdrawal, flies were exposed to 10% and 15% ethanol solutions for one hour and 48 hours. Their symptoms were measured through the negative geotaxis assay which involved the flies climbing 100 cm up a vial and timed on their ability to reach the top. Observational data was also gathered through this test. It was found that theobromine was able to increase the overall time it took the flies to reach the top. Caffeine made the flies move faster, but they showed lack of focus and their overall time to complete the negative geotaxis test was significantly slower than both the control and 15% ethanol groups.

Competition history

  • CSEF 2026 Medicine & Physiology (Track 2) (Senior Division) · Entry S-21-18

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