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Episodic-like memory in zebrafish

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Abstract

Episodic-like memory tests often aid in determining an animal’s ability to recall the what, where, and which (context) of an event. To date, this type of memory has been demonstrated in humans, wild chacma baboons, corvids (Scrub jays), humming birds, mice, rats, Yucatan minipigs, and cuttlefish. The potential for this type of memory in zebrafish remains unexplored even though they are quickly becoming an essential model organism for the study of a variety of human cognitive and mental disorders. Here we explore the episodic-like capabilities of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in a previously established mammalian memory paradigm. We demonstrate that when zebrafish were presented with a familiar object in a familiar context but a novel location within that context, they spend more time in the novel quadrant. Thus, zebrafish display episodic-like memory as they remember what object they saw, where they saw it (quadrant location), and on which occasion (yellow or blue walls) it was presented.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant to T.J.H. (04843). We also would like to thank the MacEwan Research Office for funding summer fellowships (to Z.M. and J.G.) and Mr. Jay Abbott and Ms. Aleah McCorry for their assistance with fish husbandry. We would like to extend great thanks to two anonymous reviewers and the editor Ken Cheng for their helpful comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, MacEwan University, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4S2, Canada

    Trevor J. Hamilton, Allison Myggland, Erika Duperreault, Zacnicte May, Joshua Gallup, Russell A. Powell, Melike Schalomon & Shannon M. Digweed

  2. Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2H7, Canada

    Trevor J. Hamilton & Zacnicte May

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  1. Trevor J. Hamilton
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  2. Allison Myggland
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  3. Erika Duperreault
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  4. Zacnicte May
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  5. Joshua Gallup
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  6. Russell A. Powell
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  7. Melike Schalomon
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  8. Shannon M. Digweed
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Correspondence to Trevor J. Hamilton.

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Hamilton, T.J., Myggland, A., Duperreault, E. et al. Episodic-like memory in zebrafish. Anim Cogn 19, 1071–1079 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-016-1014-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-016-1014-1

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