Rationale Adolescence is a period of heightened vulnerability to nicotine reinforcement. While zebrafish are a valuable model for investigating drug reward, standard conditioned place preference (CPP) assays typically test subjects in isolation. In this highly social species, solitary testing may act as an environmental stressor that confounds behavioral readouts. Objectives This study examined how social context during testing (isolated vs. grouped) affects experimental attrition, behavioral stability, and nicotine CPP expression in late juvenile zebrafish. Methods Zebrafish housed in groups of four were tested either individually (isolated) or in their housing groups (grouped) during daily 20-minute sessions. Following baseline preference assessments, subjects underwent six days of conditioning pairing their initially non-preferred compartment with fish water or nicotine (0.5, 1.6, or 5.0 mol/L). Place preference, locomotion, and thigmotaxis were assessed on a drug-free test day. Results Isolated testing reduced distance traveled, decreased swimming speed, and increased time spent near tank walls, indicating heightened anxiety-like behavior. Experimental attrition was significantly higher in isolated (38.9%) than grouped (2.5%) subjects. Grouped subjects developed significant place preference at 1.6 and 5.0 mol/L nicotine, whereas preference was not detectable in isolated subjects. Conclusions Solitary testing acts as a stressor that increases experimental attrition and masks place preference. Conversely, testing in the presence of conspecifics stabilizes behavior and facilitates the detection of nicotine reward in late juvenile zebrafish.
Huang, J., Vaithianathan, T., Chen, H.
Advertisement
Stats
- Recommendations n/a n/a positive of 0 vote(s)
- Views 1
- Comments 0