Light-Dark Preference Test: A Method to Study Anxiety-Related Behavior in Zebrafish
Published: April 30, 2023
Abstract
Source: Holcombe, A., et al. A Novel Method of Drug Administration to Multiple Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and the Quantification of Withdrawal. J. Vis. Exp. (2014)
The video describes the light-dark preference assay to study the anxiety-related behavior in zebrafish following the exposure to ethanol.
Protocol
1. Behavioral Testing Obtain a light/dark arena 9.5 cm wide by 55 cm long and 9.5 cm deep with a white waterproof floor (Figure 1B). Affix white and black waterproof non-reflective paper to the inside walls of the arena using velcro, with half of the arena covered in white and half covered in black. Fill the arena to a depth of 5 cm with habitat water at a temperature of 25-28 °C. Maintain this temperature throughout testing. Minimalize external visual stimuli by constructing a…
Representative Results
Figure 1: Transfer Procedure and the Light/Dark arena. These photos illustrate the transfer procedure. (A) First, the fish are situated in the transfer tank (left). Dosing tank containing ethanol is pictured (right). (B-C) Moving the fish from the transfer tank to the ethanol solution requires the researcher to lift the spawning insert out of the transfe…
Materials
| Light/Dark Arena | Custom | Construct as per procedure description. 9.5 cm wide, 9.5 cm deep, 55 cm long. | |
| Three shelf benchtop housing system | Aquatic Habitats | N/A | |
| 1.5 L Spawning tank w/400 μm baffle | Aquatic Habitats | N/A | |
| Ethovision XT Motion tracking software | Noldus Information Technology | ||
| Pure Grain Ethanol | Luxco, INC | N/A |
