2017, Volume 11, Issue 2
Frontiers of Medicine >> 2017, Volume 11, Issue 2 doi: 10.1007/s11684-017-0507-x
Behavioral methods for the functional assessment of hair cells in zebrafish
1. Department of Biology, South University of Science and Technology of China, Shenzhen 518000, China.
2. Department of Basic Medicine, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430000, China.
3. State Key Laboratory of Analog and Mixed-Signal VLSI, University of Macau, Macau, China.
4. Key Laboratory of Combinatorial Biosynthesis and Drug Discovery, Ministry of Education, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, and Medical Research Institute, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China.
5. Research Service, VA Loma Linda Healthcare System, Loma Linda, CA 92357, USA.
6. Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, CA 92350, USA
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Abstract
Zebrafish is an emerging animal model for studies on auditory system. This model presents high comparability with humans, good accessibility to the hearing organ, and high throughput capacity. To better utilize this animal model, methodologies need to be used to quantify the hearing function of the zebrafish. Zebrafish displays a series of innate and robust behavior related to its auditory function. Here, we reviewed the advantage of using zebrafish in auditory research and then introduced three behavioral tests, as follows: the startle response, the vestibular-ocular reflex, and rheotaxis. These tests are discussed in terms of their physiological characteristics, up-to-date technical development, and apparatus description. Test limitation and areas to improve are also introduced. Finally, we revealed the feasibility of these applications in zebrafish behavioral assessment and their potential in the high-throughput screening on hearing-related genes and drugs.
Keywords
zebrafish (Danio rerio) ; behavior ; auditory ; startle response ; vestibular-ocular reflex ; rheotaxis
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