Bilotta Joseph, Saszik Shannon, Givin Carla M, Hardesty Heather R, Sutherland Sarah E
Department of Psychology and Biotechnology Center, Western Kentucky University, 1 Big Red Way, Bowling Green 42101, USA.
Neurotoxicol Teratol. 2002 Nov-Dec;24(6):759-66. doi: 10.1016/s0892-0362(02)00319-7.
Across a variety of species, including humans, it has been shown that embryos exposed to ethanol display eye abnormalities as well as deficiencies in visual physiology and behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of embryonic exposure to ethanol on visual function in zebrafish. Visual function was assessed physiologically, via electroretinogram (ERG) recordings, and behaviorally, by measuring visual acuity with the optomotor response. Zebrafish larvae were exposed to 1.5% ethanol at various times during development, including the period of maximal eye development. The results show that ethanol effects on visual function were most pronounced when exposure occurred during eye development. ERG recordings from ethanol-exposed larvae differed from normal subjects both in shape of the response waveform and in visual thresholds under both light and dark adaptation; the differences were more pronounced under lower levels of adaptation. Also, ethanol-exposed larvae displayed lower visual acuity as determined from the optomotor response. These results indicate embryonic ethanol exposure affects visual function particularly when exposure occurs during eye development. In addition, these findings illustrate the usefulness of the zebrafish as a viable animal model for studying Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS).
在包括人类在内的多种物种中，研究表明，暴露于乙醇的胚胎会出现眼部异常以及视觉生理和行为方面的缺陷。本研究的目的是检测胚胎期暴露于乙醇对斑马鱼视觉功能的影响。通过视网膜电图（ERG）记录从生理角度评估视觉功能，通过用视动反应测量视敏度从行为角度评估视觉功能。斑马鱼幼体在发育的不同时期，包括眼睛发育最旺盛的时期，暴露于1.5%的乙醇中。结果显示，当在眼睛发育期间发生暴露时，乙醇对视觉功能的影响最为明显。暴露于乙醇的幼体的ERG记录在反应波形形状以及明适应和暗适应下的视觉阈值方面均与正常个体不同；在较低适应水平下差异更为明显。此外，根据视动反应确定，暴露于乙醇的幼体视敏度较低。这些结果表明，胚胎期乙醇暴露会影响视觉功能，尤其是在眼睛发育期间发生暴露时。此外，这些发现说明了斑马鱼作为研究胎儿酒精综合征（FAS）的可行动物模型的有用性。
