Premium
Developmental social isolation affects adult behavior, social interaction, and dopamine metabolite levels in zebrafish
Author(s) -
Shams Soaleha,
Amlani Shahid,
Buske Christine,
Chatterjee Diptendu,
Gerlai Robert
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.21581
Subject(s) - zebrafish , social isolation , social stress , dopamine , psychology , social animal , monoamine neurotransmitter , biology , developmental psychology , neuroscience , ecology , psychiatry , serotonin , genetics , receptor , gene
The zebrafish is a social vertebrate and an excellent translational model for a variety of human disorders. Abnormal social behavior is a hallmark of several human brain disorders. Social behavioral problems can arise as a result of adverse early social environment. Little is known about the effects of early social isolation in adult zebrafish. We compared zebrafish that were isolated for either short (7 days) or long duration (180 days) to socially housed zebrafish, testing their behavior across ontogenesis (ages 10, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180 days), and shoal cohesion and whole‐brain monoamines and their metabolites in adulthood. Long social isolation increased locomotion and decreased shoal cohesion and anxiety in the open‐field in adult. Additionally, both short and long social isolation reduced dopamine metabolite levels in response to social stimuli. Thus, early social isolation has lasting effects in zebrafish, and may be employed to generate zebrafish models of human neuropsychiatric conditions.