Spontaneous alternation behavior in larval zebrafish.
Spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB) describes the tendency of animals to alternate their turn direction in consecutive turns. SAB, unlike other mnestic tasks, does not require any prior training or reinforcement. Because of its close correlation with the development and function of the hippocampus in mice, it is thought to reflect a type of memory. Adult zebrafish possess a hippocampus-like structure utilizing the same neurotransmitters as in human brains, and have thus been used to study memory. In the current study, we established SAB in zebrafish larvae at 6 days post-fertilization using a custom-made forced-turn maze with a rate of 57%. Our demonstration of the presence of SAB in larval zebrafish at a very early developmental stage not only provides evidence for early cognition in this species but also suggests its future usefulness as a high-throughput model for mnestic studies.
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich 8091, Switzerland.
Stefan Yu
SY
Bögli
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich 8091, Switzerland ying-yu.huang@usz.ch.|Zurich Center for Integrative Human Physiology (ZIHP), University of Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland.|Neuroscience Center Zurich (ZNZ), University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland.
Melody Ying-Yu
0000-0003-4368-9648
MY
Huang
D000818:Animals; D003071:Cognition; D018782:Maze Learning; D008568:Memory; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000502:physiology*
Cognition; KEY WORDS: Zebrafish; Maze; Memory; SAB