Social environment modulates anxiogenic effects of caffeine in zebrafish.

Zebrafish has recently become a species of choice in a number of preclinical studies to examine whether and how psychoactive compounds modulate individual and social behaviors. Here, we sought to contribute an improved understanding of the effects of caffeine, a well-known anxiogenic compound, on the swimming activity and the collective response of zebrafish. To investigate how the social environment influences individual response to acute caffeine treatment, we measured the behavior of a caffeine-treated subject swimming in isolation or in the presence of a group of untreated conspecifics.

Zebrafish response to 3D printed shoals of conspecifics: the effect of body size.

Recent progress in three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has enabled rapid prototyping of complex models at a limited cost. Virtually every research laboratory has access to a 3D printer, which can assist in the design and implementation of hypothesis-driven studies on animal behavior. In this study, we explore the possibility of using 3D printing technology to understand the role of body size in the social behavior of the zebrafish model organism.

Effect of acute ethanol administration on zebrafish tail-beat motion.

Zebrafish is becoming a species of choice in neurobiological and behavioral studies of alcohol-related disorders. In these efforts, the activity of adult zebrafish is typically quantified using indirect activity measures that are either scored manually or identified automatically from the fish trajectory. The analysis of such activity measures has produced important insight into the effect of acute ethanol exposure on individual and social behavior of this vertebrate species.

Live predators, robots, and computer-animated images elicit differential avoidance responses in zebrafish.

Emotional disturbances constitute a major health issue affecting a considerable portion of the population in western countries. In this context, animal models offer a relevant tool to address the underlying biological determinants and to screen novel therapeutic strategies. While rodents have traditionally constituted the species of choice, zebrafish are now becoming a viable alternative.

Collective response of zebrafish shoals to a free-swimming robotic fish.

In this work, we explore the feasibility of regulating the collective behavior of zebrafish with a free-swimming robotic fish. The visual cues elicited by the robot are inspired by salient features of attraction in zebrafish and include enhanced coloration, aspect ratio of a fertile female, and carangiform/subcarangiform locomotion. The robot is autonomously controlled with an online multi-target tracking system and swims in circular trajectories in the presence of groups of zebrafish.

A robotics-based behavioral paradigm to measure anxiety-related responses in zebrafish.

Zebrafish are gaining momentum as a laboratory animal species for the study of anxiety-related disorders in translational research, whereby they serve a fundamental complement to laboratory rodents. Several anxiety-related behavioral paradigms, which rest upon the presentation of live predatorial stimuli, may yield inconsistent results due to fatigue, habituation, or idiosyncratic responses exhibited by the stimulus itself. To overcome these limitations, we designed and manufactured a fully controllable robot inspired by a natural aquatic predator (Indian leaf fish, Nandus nandus) of zebrafish.

Zebrafish responds differentially to a robotic fish of varying aspect ratio, tail beat frequency, noise, and color.

In this paper, we present a bioinspired robotic fish designed to modulate the behavior of live fish. Specifically, we experimentally study the response of zebrafish to a robotic fish of varying size, color pattern, tail beat frequency, and acoustic signature in a canonical preference test. In this dichotomous experimental protocol, focal fish residing in the center focal compartment of a three-chambered test tank are confronted with pairs of competing stimuli, including various robots and the empty compartment, and their position is observed over time to measure preference.