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      The Developing Utility of Zebrafish Models for Cognitive Enhancers Research

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          Abstract

          Whereas cognitive impairment is a common symptom in multiple brain disorders, predictive and high-throughput animal models of cognition and behavior are becoming increasingly important in the field of translational neuroscience research. In particular, reliable models of the cognitive deficits characteristic of numerous neurobehavioral disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and schizophrenia have become a significant focus of investigation. While rodents have traditionally been used to study cognitive phenotypes, zebrafish ( Danio rerio) are gaining popularity as an excellent model to complement current translational neuroscience research. Here we discuss recent advances in pharmacological and genetic approaches using zebrafish models to study cognitive impairments and to discover novel cognitive enhancers and neuroprotective mechanisms.

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          Most cited references163

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          Neocortical excitation/inhibition balance in information processing and social dysfunction.

          Severe behavioural deficits in psychiatric diseases such as autism and schizophrenia have been hypothesized to arise from elevations in the cellular balance of excitation and inhibition (E/I balance) within neural microcircuitry. This hypothesis could unify diverse streams of pathophysiological and genetic evidence, but has not been susceptible to direct testing. Here we design and use several novel optogenetic tools to causally investigate the cellular E/I balance hypothesis in freely moving mammals, and explore the associated circuit physiology. Elevation, but not reduction, of cellular E/I balance within the mouse medial prefrontal cortex was found to elicit a profound impairment in cellular information processing, associated with specific behavioural impairments and increased high-frequency power in the 30-80 Hz range, which have both been observed in clinical conditions in humans. Consistent with the E/I balance hypothesis, compensatory elevation of inhibitory cell excitability partially rescued social deficits caused by E/I balance elevation. These results provide support for the elevated cellular E/I balance hypothesis of severe neuropsychiatric disease-related symptoms.
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            The cholinergic hypothesis of geriatric memory dysfunction.

            Biochemical, electrophysiological, and pharmacological evidence supporting a role for cholinergic dysfunction in age-related memory disturbances is critically reviewed. An attempt has been made to identify pseudoissues, resolve certain controversies, and clarify misconceptions that have occurred in the literature. Significant cholinergic dysfunctions occur in the aged and demented central nervous system, relationships between these changes and loss of memory exist, similar memory deficits can be artificially induced by blocking cholinergic mechanisms in young subjects, and under certain tightly controlled conditions reliable memory improvements in aged subjects can be achieved after cholinergic stimulation. Conventional attempts to reduce memory impairments in clinical trials hav not been therapeutically successful, however. Possible explanations for these disappointments are given and directions for future laboratory and clinical studies are suggested.
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              Understanding behavioral and physiological phenotypes of stress and anxiety in zebrafish.

              The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is emerging as a promising model organism for experimental studies of stress and anxiety. Here we further validate zebrafish models of stress by analyzing how environmental and pharmacological manipulations affect their behavioral and physiological phenotypes. Experimental manipulations included exposure to alarm pheromone, chronic exposure to fluoxetine, acute exposure to caffeine, as well as acute and chronic exposure to ethanol. Acute (but not chronic) alarm pheromone and acute caffeine produced robust anxiogenic effects, including reduced exploration, increased erratic movements and freezing behavior in zebrafish tested in the novel tank diving test. In contrast, ethanol and fluoxetine had robust anxiolytic effects, including increased exploration and reduced erratic movements. The behavior of several zebrafish strains was also quantified to ascertain differences in their behavioral profiles, revealing high-anxiety (leopard, albino) and low-anxiety (wild type) strains. We also used LocoScan (CleverSys Inc.) video-tracking tool to quantify anxiety-related behaviors in zebrafish, and dissect anxiety-related phenotypes from locomotor activity. Finally, we developed a simple and effective method of measuring zebrafish physiological stress responses (based on a human salivary cortisol assay), and showed that alterations in whole-body cortisol levels in zebrafish parallel behavioral indices of anxiety. Collectively, our results confirm zebrafish as a valid, reliable, and high-throughput model of stress and affective disorders.
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Curr Neuropharmacol
                Curr Neuropharmacol
                CN
                Current Neuropharmacology
                Bentham Science Publishers
                1570-159X
                1875-6190
                September 2012
                September 2012
                : 10
                : 3
                : 263-271
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Brain-Body Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor Ave., Chicago, IL 60612, USA
                [2 ]Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience Program, Zebrafish Neuroscience Research Consortium, Tulane University Medical School, SL-83, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
                [3 ]ZENEREI Institute, 309 Palmer Court, Slidell, LA 70458, USA
                Author notes
                [* ] Address correspondence to this author at the Brain-Body Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1601 W. Taylor Ave., Chicago, IL 60612, USA; Tel: 412-447-1259; E-mail: astewart@ 123456psych.uic.edu
                Article
                CN-10-263
                10.2174/157015912803217323
                3468880
                23449968
                591b7ea3-1244-4866-b7a8-40d819705571
                ©2012 Bentham Science Publishers

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

                History
                : 13 May 2012
                : 22 June 2012
                : 9 July 2012
                Categories
                Article

                Pharmacology & Pharmaceutical medicine
                cognition,cognitive enhancers,drug screening,neurobehavioral disorders,neuroprotective agents,zebrafish.

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