Title of Presentation or Performance

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.

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Apr 12th, 2:00 PM Apr 12th, 3:00 PM

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.