You are here:
Behavorial assessments of larval zebrafish neurotoxicology
Citation:
PADILLA, S. J. Behavorial assessments of larval zebrafish neurotoxicology. Presented at Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, New Orleans, LA, November 23 - 25, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
Fishes have long been a popular organism in ecotoxicology research, and are increasingly used in human health research as an alternative animal model for chemical screening
Description:
Fishes have long been a popular organism in ecotoxicology research, and are increasingly used in human health research as an alternative animal model for chemical screening. Our laboratory incorporates a zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo/larval assay to screen chemicals for developmental neurotoxic potential by investigating their functional effects. We have developed a behavioral testing capability to assess the effects of sublethal and subteratogenic concentrations of developmental neurotoxicants in zebrafish. To that end, we have tested chemicals that are known to be toxic to the developing nervous system (e.g., valproate, cadmium, d-amphetamine) and chemicals which are not known to be toxic to the developing nervous system (e.g., saccharin, amoxicillin, acetaminophen) by exposing developing zebrafish embryos/larvae during development (day 0 to day 5) and then assessing locomotor activity on Day 6. Larvae are individually raised, dosed and tested in 96 well microtiter plates. Locomotor activity is highly dependent on lighting conditions (intensity and duration), and those conditions also modulate the activity profiles of the animals that were treated with neurotoxic chemicals during development. This testing paradigm is flexible and allows determination of toxicant effects on the overall level of locomotion, habituation, and visual thresholds. This abstract may not necessarily reflect official Agency policy.