Dexamethasone Exposure and Thigmotaxis in Larval Zebrafish (Danio Rerio)
Submission Type
Event
Expected Graduation Date
2015
Location
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Start Date
4-12-2014 2:00 PM
End Date
4-12-2014 3:00 PM
Disciplines
Physics | Psychology
Abstract
Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid commonly used as an anti-inflammatory drug in humans. Dexamethasone is also given to pregnant women at risk of pre-term delivery to accelerate fetal lung development. Research with animal models has linked early exposure to Dexamethasone to lasting disturbances of cranial/facial morphology and brain development. The current study examined the association between early Dexamethasone exposure and anxiety-like behaviors using Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) as a model organism. Thigmotaxis (edge-preference) in fish is thought to be analogous to rodent wall-hugging behaviors in open field tests. Pharmacological manipulations with anxiogenics and anxiolytics produce reliable alterations in thigmotaxis consistent with the interpretation that thigmotaxis reflects anxiety-like states in fish. Immediately after fertilization, zebrafish larvae were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) dexamethasone plus solvent exposure, 2) solvent exposure, or 3) control. At 7-days post fertilization, the fish were introduced to a novel environment and their thigmotaxic behavior was recorded and analyzed.
Dexamethasone Exposure and Thigmotaxis in Larval Zebrafish (Danio Rerio)
Center for Natural Sciences, Illinois Wesleyan University
Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid commonly used as an anti-inflammatory drug in humans. Dexamethasone is also given to pregnant women at risk of pre-term delivery to accelerate fetal lung development. Research with animal models has linked early exposure to Dexamethasone to lasting disturbances of cranial/facial morphology and brain development. The current study examined the association between early Dexamethasone exposure and anxiety-like behaviors using Zebrafish (Danio Rerio) as a model organism. Thigmotaxis (edge-preference) in fish is thought to be analogous to rodent wall-hugging behaviors in open field tests. Pharmacological manipulations with anxiogenics and anxiolytics produce reliable alterations in thigmotaxis consistent with the interpretation that thigmotaxis reflects anxiety-like states in fish. Immediately after fertilization, zebrafish larvae were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: 1) dexamethasone plus solvent exposure, 2) solvent exposure, or 3) control. At 7-days post fertilization, the fish were introduced to a novel environment and their thigmotaxic behavior was recorded and analyzed.