Zebrafish as an emerging model for studying complex brain disorders

Allan V. Kalueff*, Adam Michael Stewart, Robert Gerlai

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

828 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is rapidly becoming a popular model organism in pharmacogenetics and neuropharmacology. Both larval and adult zebrafish are currently used to increase our understanding of brain function, dysfunction, and their genetic and pharmacological modulation. Here we review the developing utility of zebrafish in the analysis of complex brain disorders (including, e.g., depression, autism, psychoses, drug abuse, and cognitive deficits), also covering zebrafish applications towards the goal of modeling major human neuropsychiatric and drug-induced syndromes. We argue that zebrafish models of complex brain disorders and drug-induced conditions are a rapidly emerging critical field in translational neuroscience and pharmacology research.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)63-75
Number of pages13
JournalTrends in Pharmacological Sciences
Volume35
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2014
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • behavioral tests
  • brain disorders
  • translational research
  • zebrafish

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