Whole-brain mapping in adult zebrafish and identification of the functional brain network underlying the novel tank test.

Zebrafish have gained prominence as a model organism in neuroscience over the past several decades, generating key insight into the development and functioning of the vertebrate brain. However, techniques for whole brain mapping in adult stage zebrafish are lacking. Here, we describe a pipeline built using open-source tools for whole-brain activity mapping in adult zebrafish.

Whole-brain mapping in adult zebrafish and identification of a novel tank test functional connectome.

Identifying general principles of brain function requires the study of structure-function relationships in a variety of species. Zebrafish have recently gained prominence as a model organism in neuroscience, yielding important insights into vertebrate brain function. Although methods have been developed for mapping neural activity in larval animals, we lack similar techniques for adult zebrafish that have the advantage of a fully developed neuroanatomy and larger behavioral repertoire.