Browsing by Author "Duperreault, Erika"
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Item Episodic-like memory in zebrafish(2016) Hamilton, Trevor; Myggland, Allison; Duperreault, Erika; May, Zacnicte; Gallup, Joshua; Powell, Russell A.; Schalomon, Melike; Digweed, ShannonEpisodic-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.Item Opposing effects of acute and repeated nicotine exposure on boldness in zebrafish(2020) Dean, Rachel; Duperreault, Erika; Newton, Dustin; Krook, Jeffrey T.; Ingraham, Erica; Gallup, Joshua; Franczak, Brian C.; Hamilton, TrevorNicotine is an addictive compound that activates neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and causes behavioural effects that vary with dose, schedule of administration, and animal model. In zebrafish (Danio rerio), acute doses of nicotine have been consistently found to have anxiolytic properties, whereas, chronic exposure elicits anxiogenic effects. To date, however, studies on repeated nicotine administration and the effects of nicotine withdrawal have not been well explored using this model. In this study, we administered nicotine with three different dosing regimens: 1. Single exposures of a “high” dose (25, 50, 100, or 400 mg/L) for 3 minutes. 2. Single exposures to a “low” dose (2.5, 5, or 20 mg/L) for one hour. 3. Repeated one-hour exposure to a “low” dose (2.5, 5, or 20 mg/L) for 21 days. The novel object approach test was used to examine boldness based on the tendency of the fish to explore a novel object. Acutely, nicotine significantly increased the time spent approaching the object with both three-minute and one hour durations of exposure, indicating increased boldness. Conversely, after repeated nicotine exposure for 21 days, fish spent less time approaching the object suggesting a decrease in boldness. Distance moved was unaffected one hour after repeated nicotine exposure, yet decreased after a two-day withdrawal period. Our work suggests that nicotine can have opposing effects on boldness that vary based on dosage and schedule of exposure.Item Repeated ethanol exposure increases anxiety-like behaviour in zebrafish during withdrawal(2019) Krook, Jeffrey T.; Duperreault, Erika; Newton, Dustin; Ross, Matthew S.; Hamilton, TrevorZebrafish (Danio rerio) are quickly becoming an important model organism in behavioural neuroscience and drug addiction research. Conditioned place preference studies show that drugs of abuse produce responses in zebrafish that are similar to mammalian animal models. Repeated administration of ethanol in zebrafish results in withdrawal-induced behavioural responses that vary with dose and exposure duration, requiring additional investigation. Here, we examine the effects of ethanol withdrawal on anxiety-like behaviours in adult zebrafish after a 21-day ethanol dosing schedule at either 0.4% or 0.8%. Anxiety-like behaviour was measured with the novel object approach test; this test involves placing a fish in a circular arena with a novel object in the centre and observing the amount of exploration of the object. We found increased anxiety-like behaviour during ethanol withdrawal. This study adds to the growing body of literature that validates the zebrafish as a model organism in the field of behavioural neuroscience and addiction.