Adult zebrafish in CNS disease modeling: A tank that's half-full, not half-empty, and still filling

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-6-2017

Abstract

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly used in a broad array of biomedical studies, from cancer research to drug screening. Zebrafish also represent an emerging model organism for studying complex brain diseases. The number of zebrafish neuroscience studies is exponentially growing, significantly outpacing those conducted with rodents or other model organisms. Yet, there is still a substantial amount of resistance in adopting zebrafish as a first-choice model system. Studies of the repertoire of zebrafish neural and behavioral functions continue to reveal new opportunities for understanding the pathobiology of various CNS deficits. Although some of these models are well established in zebrafish, including models for anxiety, depression, and addiction, others are less recognized, for example, models of autism and obsessive-compulsive states. However, mounting data indicate that a wide spectrum of CNS diseases can be modeled in adult zebrafish. Here, we summarize recent findings using zebrafish CNS assays, discuss model limitations and the existing challenges, as well as outline future directions of research in this field. © 2017 Nature America, Inc., part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved.

DOI

10.1038/laban.1345

First Page

378

Last Page

387

Volume

46

Issue

10

Publication Title

Lab Animal

ISSN

00937355

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