Background: Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) is a devastating disorder whose mechanisms may be best investigated using animal models. Here we present a novel zebrafish FAS model to investigate the effects of low to moderate alcohol exposure during early development on learning.
Methods: At 24-hours postfertilization zebrafish embryos were exposed to low doses of ethanol (external concentrations = 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00% vol/vol) for a very short duration (2 hours). Upon adulthood associative learning in the zebrafish was tested in a plus maze.
Results: This exposure led to no gross anatomical abnormalities or increased morbidity or mortality. Overall activity was not significantly affected by embryonic ethanol exposure. A trend towards a dose-dependent decrease in learning and memory performance was observed. Conclusions: We suggest that zebrafish will be an appropriate model with which one can analyze the behavioural effects of embryonic alcohol exposure and the mechanisms of the ensuing abnormalities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TORONTO/oai:tspace.library.utoronto.ca:1807/25575 |
| Date | 31 December 2010 |
| Creators | Fernandes, Yohaan |
| Contributors | Gerlai, Robert |
| Source Sets | University of Toronto |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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