Adam Stewart, Nadine Wu, Jonathan Cachat et al.|Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry|2010
Cited by 243
Medical University of South Carolina
Publishes on Zebrafish Biomedical Research Applications, Receptor Mechanisms and Signaling, Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior. 7 papers and 505 citations.
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3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA, 'ecstasy') is a potent psychedelic drug inducing euphoria and hypersociability in humans, as well as hyperactivity and anxiety in rodents. Adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become a widely used species in neurobehavioral research. Here, we explore the effects of a wide range (0.25-120 mg/l) of acute MDMA doses on zebrafish behavior in the novel tank test. Although MDMA was inactive at lower doses (0.25-10 mg/l), higher doses reduced bottom swimming and immobility (40-120 mg/l) and impaired intrasession habituation (10-120 mg/l). MDMA also elevated brain c-fos expression, collectively confirming the usage of zebrafish models for screening of hallucinogenic compounds.
Three-dimensional reconstruction is a method of qualifying the behavioral activity of several animals including mice, rats, and zebrafish. This method allows for measuring behavioral endpoint data on two types of tracking planes (temporal and spatial). Temporal tracking measures the activity of a subject across time while spatial tracking measures the activity of a subject in a specific area of the experimental arena as such. Data representation over 3D visual trajectory reconstruction is a robustly advantageous method of behavioral phenotyping. Digital video-tracking and analysis eliminates the inaccuracies of manual tracking and allows for improved investigation of behavioral activity at specific points in time or specific areas of the tracking arena.
Animal behavioral tests are useful tools for modeling complex human brain disorders. The Suok test (ST) is a relatively new behavioral paradigm that simultaneously examines anxiety and neurological/vestibular phenotypes in rodents. The novelty and instability of the ST apparatus induces anxiety-related behavior in mice, whereas the elevation of the horizontal rod allows for the assessment of motor and neurological phenotypes. This chapter discusses the utility of the ST in detecting mouse anxiety, habituation, exploration, motorisensory deficits, and the interplay between these domains. With a growing number of laboratories using this model, a detailed protocol for the ST behavioral analysis (with a focus on video-tracking tools and novel applications) is also provided.