Assessing memory in zebrafish using the one-trial test.
Zebrafish represents a very promising model to study memory function and impairment in vertebrates. The one-trial memory test has proven to be a reliable method to assess memory in mammals without the need for an extensive training procedure or the learning of a rule. To investigate whether such a test is suitable for zebrafish we observed adult fish in a modification of the original one-trial memory test developed for rats. Subjects were allowed to familiarize themselves with a new object for 25 min (exposure phase) and were then required to discriminate between the familiar object and a novel object that differed in shape and color (test phase). In both phases zebrafish showed a clear tendency to explore a new object, can memorize the characteristics of this object and use this information when a second object was presented irrespective of the delay (2, 6 or 24h) that separated the two phases. These results suggest that memory performance in fish could be also assessed using this very simple test.
Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Italy.
Tyrone
T
Lucon-Xiccato
Dipartimento di Psicologia Generale, Università di Padova, Italy. Electronic address: marco.dadda@unipd.it.
Marco
M
Dadda
D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000502:physiology*
Fish; Memory; One-trial memory test