Social Preference Deficits in Juvenile Zebrafish Induced by Early Chronic Exposure to Sodium Valproate.
Prenatal exposure to sodium valproate (VPA), a widely used anti-epileptic drug, is related to a series of dysfunctions, such as deficits in language and communication. Clinical and animal studies have indicated that the effects of VPA are related to the concentration and to the exposure window, while the neurobehavioral effects of VPA have received limited research attention. In the current study, to analyze the neurobehavioral effects of VPA, zebrafish at 24 h post-fertilization (hpf) were treated with early chronic exposure to 20 μM VPA for 7 h per day for 6 days or with early acute exposure to 100 μM VPA for 7 h. A battery of behavioral screenings was conducted at 1 month of age to investigate social preference, locomotor activity, anxiety, and behavioral response to light change. A social preference deficit was only observed in animals with chronic VPA exposure. Acute VPA exposure induced a change in the locomotor activity, while chronic VPA exposure did not affect locomotor activity. Neither exposure procedure influenced anxiety or the behavioral response to light change. These results suggested that VPA has the potential to affect some behaviors in zebrafish, such as social behavior and the locomotor activity, and that the effects were closely related to the concentration and the exposure window. Additionally, social preference seemed to be independent from other simple behaviors.
Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Xiuyun
X
Liu
Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Yinglan
Y
Zhang
Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Jia
J
Lin
Department of Life Sciences, Anhui Science and Technology University Anhui, China.
Qiaoxi
Q
Xia
Center for Chinese Medical Therapy and Systems Biology, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Shanghai, China.
Ning
N
Guo
Translational Medical Center for Development and Disease, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, Institute of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Fudan University Shanghai, China.
Qiang
Q
Li
anxiety; behavior; locomotor activity; social preference; sodium valproate; zebrafish