An animal model often used in neuroscience to better understand how the brain works.
The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become a model of choice in neuroscience over the past 30 years for several reasons:
- Proximity of the zebra fish brain to that of mammals: although its brain is smaller and simpler, it shares an organization and neurotransmitters similar to those of humans, which allows the study of general functions such as memory, sleep, brain plasticity or emotion-related circuits.
- Transparency and accessibility: zebrafish embryos and larvae are transparent, making it possible to directly image neuronal development and activity without heavy surgery. This allows researchers to track brain growth cell by cell.
- Genetic Ease: The zebrafish genome is well known and easily modified. Techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 make it possible to create models of human neurological diseases (epilepsy, autism, Parkinson's disease, etc.).
- Reproduction: zebrafish reproduce very quickly: a female can lay hundreds of eggs a week.
- Behavioural studies: despite their small size, zebrafish exhibit complex behaviours: learning, spatial memory, social interactions, stress responses that can be studied, such as observing the links between neural circuits, behaviour and movement.
Other Words That May Be of Interest to You
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) :
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) contains all the genetic information, known as the genome, that enables living organisms to develop, function and reproduce.
- Neuroscience :
- Neuroscience encompasses all scientific research into the nervous system, namely the brain, spinal cord and nerves.