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Sleep deprivation effects on object discrimination task in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Animal Cognition volume 20, pages 159–169 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

The zebrafish is an ideal vertebrate model for neurobehavioral studies with translational relevance to humans. Many aspects of sleep have been studied, but we still do not understand how and why sleep deprivation alters behavioral and physiological processes. A number of hypotheses suggest its role in memory consolidation. In this respect, the aim of this study was to analyze the effects of sleep deprivation on memory in zebrafish (Danio rerio), using an object discrimination paradigm. Four treatments were tested: control, partial sleep deprivation, total sleep deprivation by light pulses, and total sleep deprivation by extended light. The control group explored the new object more than the known object, indicating clear discrimination. The partially sleep-deprived group explored the new object more than the other object in the discrimination phase, suggesting a certain degree of discriminative performance. By contrast, both total sleep deprivation groups equally explored all objects, regardless of their novelty. It seems that only one night of sleep deprivation is enough to affect discriminative response in zebrafish, indicating its negative impact on cognitive processes. We suggest that this study could be a useful screening tool for cognitive dysfunction and a better understanding of the effect of sleep-wake cycles on cognition.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mr. Freire and Mr. Fonseca for statistical support, Mr. and Mrs. Haghverdian for English revision, and Ms. Nascimento and Ms. Jordão for technical assistance. We are thankful to the anonymous reviewers, who provided helpful comments and constructive criticism. The authors declare no competing interests.

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Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Fisiologia, Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, PO BOX 1511, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-970, Brazil

    Jaquelinne Pinheiro-da-Silva, Priscila Fernandes Silva & Ana Carolina Luchiari

  2. Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, CCET, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, 59078-970, Brazil

    Marcelo Borges Nogueira

Authors
  1. Jaquelinne Pinheiro-da-Silva
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  2. Priscila Fernandes Silva
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  3. Marcelo Borges Nogueira
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  4. Ana Carolina Luchiari
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ana Carolina Luchiari.

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Pinheiro-da-Silva, J., Silva, P.F., Nogueira, M.B. et al. Sleep deprivation effects on object discrimination task in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Anim Cogn 20, 159–169 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-016-1034-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-016-1034-x

Keywords

  • Sleep
  • Fish
  • Memory
  • Discrimination
  • Bayesian analysis