Kysil Elana V, Meshalkina Darya A, Frick Erin E, Echevarria David J, Rosemberg Denis B, Maximino Caio, Lima Monica Gomes, Abreu Murilo S, Giacomini Ana C, Barcellos Leonardo J G, Song Cai, Kalueff Allan V
1 Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University , St. Petersburg, Russia .
2 Department of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi , Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
Zebrafish. 2017 Jun;14(3):197-208. doi: 10.1089/zeb.2016.1415. Epub 2017 May 1.
Modeling of stress and anxiety in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly utilized in neuroscience research and central nervous system (CNS) drug discovery. Representing the most commonly used zebrafish anxiety models, the novel tank test (NTT) focuses on zebrafish diving in response to potentially threatening stimuli, whereas the light-dark test (LDT) is based on fish scototaxis (innate preference for dark vs. bright areas). Here, we systematically evaluate the utility of these two tests, combining meta-analyses of published literature with comparative in vivo behavioral and whole-body endocrine (cortisol) testing. Overall, the NTT and LDT behaviors demonstrate a generally good cross-test correlation in vivo, whereas meta-analyses of published literature show that both tests have similar sensitivity to zebrafish anxiety-like states. Finally, NTT evokes higher levels of cortisol, likely representing a more stressful procedure than LDT. Collectively, our study reappraises NTT and LDT for studying anxiety-like states in zebrafish, and emphasizes their developing utility for neurobehavioral research. These findings can help optimize drug screening procedures by choosing more appropriate models for testing anxiolytic or anxiogenic drugs.
成年斑马鱼（Danio rerio）的应激和焦虑模型在神经科学研究和中枢神经系统（CNS）药物发现中越来越多地被使用。作为最常用的斑马鱼焦虑模型，新奇水箱试验（NTT）关注斑马鱼对潜在威胁刺激的反应性潜水，而明暗试验（LDT）则基于鱼类的趋暗性（对暗区与亮区的先天偏好）。在此，我们系统地评估这两种试验的效用，将已发表文献的荟萃分析与体内行为和全身内分泌（皮质醇）比较测试相结合。总体而言，NTT和LDT行为在体内表现出普遍良好的交叉试验相关性，而对已发表文献的荟萃分析表明，这两种试验对斑马鱼类似焦虑状态的敏感性相似。最后，NTT会引发更高水平的皮质醇，这可能表明其比LDT更具应激性。我们的研究共同重新评估了NTT和LDT在研究斑马鱼类似焦虑状态方面的作用，并强调了它们在神经行为研究中不断发展的效用。这些发现有助于通过选择更合适的模型来测试抗焦虑或促焦虑药物，从而优化药物筛选程序。
