Stress and Learning in Larval Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Honors College Thesis

Public Deposited

Citeable URL: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/honors_college_theses/sq87c065r

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Attribute Name	Values
Creator	Moussaoui, Bushra
Abstract	In this study, we characterize the behavioral response of larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) to the noxious chemical allyl isothiocyanate (AITC), an agonist of the nociceptive TRPA1 ion channel, and utilize AITC as an aversive stimulus in an associative learning paradigm. We find that larvae exposed to AITC in both a light open field assay and dark/light preference assay exhibit significantly lower swimming speed and greater turning speed compared to unstressed animals. Using a conditioned place preference paradigm we paired AITC with either a light or a dark visual stimulus and measured dark/light preference in the absence of the stressor. We find that light-paired conditioning results in a significantly weaker light preference compared to dark-paired conditioning, suggesting that larvae as young as 7 days post fertilization are capable of associative learning.
Resource Type	Honors College Thesis
Date Issued	2019-06-07
Degree Level	Bachelor's
Degree Name	Honors Bachelor of Science (H.B.S.)
Degree Field	Biology
Degree Grantor	Oregon State University
Commencement Year	2019
Advisor	Strother, James
Committee Member	Haney, Austin Dalziel, Benjamin
Non-Academic Affiliation	Oregon State University. Honors College
Rights Statement	In Copyright
Publisher	Oregon State University
Peer Reviewed	No
Language	English [eng]
Embargo reason	Ongoing Research
Embargo date range	2019-06-07 to 2020-07-08

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