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The Light–Dark Preference Test for Larval Zebrafish

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Zebrafish Protocols for Neurobehavioral Research

Part of the book series: Neuromethods ((NM,volume 66))

Abstract

The light–dark preference test is one of the most commonly used anxiety models in animal preclinical studies. This test assesses spontaneous/natural tendency of an animal to explore/avoid certain zones of a given environment, for instance a half black-half white box. This test has been validated for use in adult but not larval zebrafish. Here we provide the first method for assessing anxiety-like behaviors in the light–dark preference test in zebrafish larvae. We also provide a pharmacological validation of this assay as well as a simple method to render it more versatile for screening of both anxiolytic and anxiogenic drugs. This is important since the ability to characterize and document the behavior of larval zebrafish is crucial in the current research era, where zebrafish has been rapidly propelled at the forefront of high-throughput technology. Therefore, this 5-min protocol will not only contributes to enriching the repertoire of assays customized for larval zebrafish but also provides a method to assess complex phenotypes of brain function while being eventually amenable to high-throughput screening in the near future.

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Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of the Smart Mix Program of The Netherlands Ministry of Economic Affairs and The Netherlands Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Zoology, Institute of Biology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands

    Peter J. Steenbergen, Michael K. Richardson & Danielle L. Champagne

  2. Department of Organismal Animal Physiology, Institute for Water and Wetland Research, Nijmegen University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Danielle L. Champagne

Authors
  1. Peter J. Steenbergen
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  2. Michael K. Richardson
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  3. Danielle L. Champagne
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Danielle L. Champagne .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neuroscience Program, Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University, Tulane Ave. 1430, New Orleans, 70112, Louisiana, USA

    Allan V. Kalueff

  2. , Department of Pharmacology, Tulane University, Tulane Avenue 1430, New Orleans, 70112, Louisiana, USA

    Adam Michael Stewart

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© 2012 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Steenbergen, P.J., Richardson, M.K., Champagne, D.L. (2012). The Light–Dark Preference Test for Larval Zebrafish. In: Kalueff, A., Stewart, A. (eds) Zebrafish Protocols for Neurobehavioral Research. Neuromethods, vol 66. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-597-8_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-61779-597-8_2

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-61779-596-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-61779-597-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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