Assessing adult zebrafish despair-like behaviors in the small vertical cylinder immobility test (VCIT)

IF 2.3 4区医学 Q2 BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS

Journal of Neuroscience Methods Pub Date : 2025-09-07 DOI:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2025.110569

Jiyi Wang , Vea Bley , Jiayou Jiang , Yunqian Zhang , Yixing Qin , Haoyu Feng , Yucheng Liu , Ruiyu Li , Chaoming Wang , Shulei He , Gan Wang , Kai He , Huiling Cai , Yuxiang Jia , Chongguang Zhao , Yingze Wang , Jiahao Cui , Longen Yang , Adam Michael Stewart , Murilo S. de Abreu , Allan V. Kalueff

{"title":"Assessing adult zebrafish despair-like behaviors in the small vertical cylinder immobility test (VCIT)","authors":"Jiyi Wang , Vea Bley , Jiayou Jiang , Yunqian Zhang , Yixing Qin , Haoyu Feng , Yucheng Liu , Ruiyu Li , Chaoming Wang , Shulei He , Gan Wang , Kai He , Huiling Cai , Yuxiang Jia , Chongguang Zhao , Yingze Wang , Jiahao Cui , Longen Yang , Adam Michael Stewart , Murilo S. de Abreu , Allan V. Kalueff","doi":"10.1016/j.jneumeth.2025.110569","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>Affective disorders represent a major global health burden. Animal models are widely used for modeling brain disorders and neuroactive drug discovery. A novel powerful tool in translational neuroscience research, zebrafish (<em>Danio rerio</em>) provide multiple behavioral assays relevant to anxiety-like and depression-related conditions (including despair-like behavior, a common feature in depression).</div></div><div><h3>New method</h3><div>Here, we introduce a novel behavioral paradigm for assessing zebrafish locomotion and despair-like phenotypes, the small 5-mL glass vertical cylinder immobility test (VCIT). Conceptually similar to rodent and other zebrafish ‘despair’-like models, the VCIT protocol is based on restricting fish locomotion vertically for 5 min in head-first position, to assess their locomotion and despair-like immobility.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>The test was sensitive to acute and chronic stressors that increased immobility duration (alarm pheromone, net chasing, chronic sleep deprivation and 12-week unpredictable stress), as well as to bidirectional modulation of zebrafish behavior by various acute and chronic neuroactive drugs. The VCIT immobility was reduced by psychostimulants nicotine and arecoline, as well as a conventional antidepressant fluoxetine. In contrast, the immobility in this test was increased by a pro-depressant dopamine-depleting drug reserpine, and remained unaltered by an anxiolytic agent ethanol or anxiogenic drugs caffeine and GBR-12909 (vanoxerine).</div></div><div><h3>Comparisons with existing method(s)</h3><div>The VCIT provides an easy-to-perform, minimally invasive, non-traumatic, and procedurally simpler and faster model of assessing zebrafish stress-evoked despair-like phenotypes.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>The VCIT is sensitive to various stress-related manipulations and bidirectional pharmacological modulation, hence emphasizing the growing relevance and potential of zebrafish in advancing neuropsychiatric research and identifying innovative treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":16415,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Neuroscience Methods","volume":"424 ","pages":"Article 110569"},"PeriodicalIF":2.3000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Neuroscience Methods","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165027025002134","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH METHODS","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Affective disorders represent a major global health burden. Animal models are widely used for modeling brain disorders and neuroactive drug discovery. A novel powerful tool in translational neuroscience research, zebrafish (Danio rerio) provide multiple behavioral assays relevant to anxiety-like and depression-related conditions (including despair-like behavior, a common feature in depression).

New method

Here, we introduce a novel behavioral paradigm for assessing zebrafish locomotion and despair-like phenotypes, the small 5-mL glass vertical cylinder immobility test (VCIT). Conceptually similar to rodent and other zebrafish ‘despair’-like models, the VCIT protocol is based on restricting fish locomotion vertically for 5 min in head-first position, to assess their locomotion and despair-like immobility.

Results

The test was sensitive to acute and chronic stressors that increased immobility duration (alarm pheromone, net chasing, chronic sleep deprivation and 12-week unpredictable stress), as well as to bidirectional modulation of zebrafish behavior by various acute and chronic neuroactive drugs. The VCIT immobility was reduced by psychostimulants nicotine and arecoline, as well as a conventional antidepressant fluoxetine. In contrast, the immobility in this test was increased by a pro-depressant dopamine-depleting drug reserpine, and remained unaltered by an anxiolytic agent ethanol or anxiogenic drugs caffeine and GBR-12909 (vanoxerine).

Comparisons with existing method(s)

The VCIT provides an easy-to-perform, minimally invasive, non-traumatic, and procedurally simpler and faster model of assessing zebrafish stress-evoked despair-like phenotypes.

Conclusions

The VCIT is sensitive to various stress-related manipulations and bidirectional pharmacological modulation, hence emphasizing the growing relevance and potential of zebrafish in advancing neuropsychiatric research and identifying innovative treatments for neuropsychiatric disorders.

查看原文本刊更多论文

评估成年斑马鱼在小垂直圆柱静止试验（VCIT）中的绝望样行为。

背景：情感性障碍是一个主要的全球健康负担。动物模型被广泛用于脑部疾病的建模和神经活性药物的发现。在转化神经科学研究中，斑马鱼提供了与焦虑和抑郁相关的多种行为分析（包括绝望样行为，抑郁症的常见特征）。新方法：在这里，我们介绍了一种新的行为范式来评估斑马鱼的运动和绝望样表型，小的5毫升玻璃垂直圆柱体不动测试（VCIT）。概念上类似于啮齿动物和其他斑马鱼的“绝望”模型，VCIT协议是基于限制它们在头朝前的位置垂直运动5分钟，以评估它们的运动和绝望样的不动。结果：该测试对增加静止时间的急慢性应激源（报警信息素、追网、慢性睡眠剥夺和12周不可预测的应激）敏感，对各种急慢性神经活性药物对斑马鱼行为的双向调节敏感。精神兴奋剂尼古丁和槟榔碱以及传统抗抑郁药氟西汀可以减少VCIT的不动。相比之下，在本试验中，抗抑郁多巴胺消耗药物利血平增加了不动性，而抗焦虑剂乙醇或抗焦虑药物咖啡因和GBR-12909则保持不变。与现有方法的比较：VCIT提供了一种易于操作，微创，非创伤性，程序更简单，更快的评估斑马鱼应激诱发的绝望样表型的模型。结论：VCIT对各种应激相关操作及其双向药理调节敏感，因此强调了斑马鱼在推进神经精神病学研究和确定神经精神疾病创新治疗方面日益增长的相关性和潜力。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

Journal of Neuroscience Methods 医学-神经科学

CiteScore

7.10

自引率

3.30%

发文量

226

审稿时长

52 days

期刊介绍： The Journal of Neuroscience Methods publishes papers that describe new methods that are specifically for neuroscience research conducted in invertebrates, vertebrates or in man. Major methodological improvements or important refinements of established neuroscience methods are also considered for publication. The Journal''s Scope includes all aspects of contemporary neuroscience research, including anatomical, behavioural, biochemical, cellular, computational, molecular, invasive and non-invasive imaging, optogenetic, and physiological research investigations.