Marcon Matheus, Mocelin Ricieri, Benvenutti Radharani, Costa Tales, Herrmann Ana P, de Oliveira Diogo L, Koakoski Gessi, Barcellos Leonardo J G, Piato Angelo
Laboratório de Psicofarmacologia e Comportamento (LAPCOM), Programa de Pós-graduação em Neurociências, ICBS, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Av. Sarmento Leite 500/305, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul 90050-170, Brazil.
Grupo de Estudos Biológicos e Clínicos em Patologias Humanas, Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul, Campus Chapecó, SC 484 km 02, Chapecó, Santa Catarina 89815-899, Brazil.
J Exp Biol. 2018 Feb 22;221(Pt 4):jeb176735. doi: 10.1242/jeb.176735.
Several studies have shown that manipulations to the housing environment modulate susceptibility to stress in laboratory animals, mainly in rodents. Environmental enrichment (EE) is one such manipulation that promotes neuroprotection and neurogenesis, besides affecting behaviors such as drug self-administration. Zebrafish are a popular and useful animal model for behavioral neuroscience studies; however, studies evaluating the impact of housing conditions in this species are scarce. In this study, we verified the effects of EE on behavioral (novel tank test) and biochemical [cortisol and reactive oxygen species (ROS)] parameters in zebrafish submitted to unpredictable chronic stress (UCS). Consistent with our previous findings, UCS increased anxiety-like behavior, cortisol and ROS levels in zebrafish. EE for 21 or 28 days attenuated the effects induced by UCS on behavior and cortisol, and prevented the effects on ROS levels. Our findings reinforce the idea that EE exerts neuromodulatory effects across species, reducing vulnerability to stress and its biochemical impact. Also, these results indicate that zebrafish is a suitable model animal to study the behavioral effects and neurobiological mechanisms related to EE.
多项研究表明，对饲养环境进行操控可调节实验动物（主要是啮齿动物）对压力的易感性。环境富集（EE）就是这样一种操控方式，它除了影响诸如药物自我给药等行为外，还能促进神经保护和神经发生。斑马鱼是行为神经科学研究中一种常用且有用的动物模型；然而，评估该物种饲养条件影响的研究却很匮乏。在本研究中，我们验证了EE对遭受不可预测慢性应激（UCS）的斑马鱼行为（新鱼缸试验）和生化参数[皮质醇和活性氧（ROS）]的影响。与我们之前的研究结果一致，UCS增加了斑马鱼的焦虑样行为、皮质醇和ROS水平。21天或28天的EE减弱了UCS对行为和皮质醇的诱导作用，并预防了对ROS水平的影响。我们的研究结果强化了这样一种观点，即EE在不同物种间发挥神经调节作用，降低对压力及其生化影响的易感性。此外，这些结果表明斑马鱼是研究与EE相关的行为效应和神经生物学机制的合适模型动物。
