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Updated: Apr 17, 2026
A Novel Method of Drug Administration to Multiple Zebrafish Danio rerio and the Quantification of Withdrawal
Published on: November 12, 2014
Anxiogenic-like effects of chronic nicotine exposure in zebrafish
Adam Michael Stewart1, Leah Grossman2, Adam D Collier3
1ZENEREI Institute, 309 Palmer Court, Slidell, LA 70458, USA; The International Zebrafish Neuroscience Research Consortium (ZNRC), 309 Palmer Court, Slidell, LA 70458, USA.
Abstract:
Nicotine is one of the most widely used and abused legal drugs. Although its pharmacological profile has been extensively investigated in humans and rodents, nicotine CNS action remains poorly understood. The importance of finding evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways, and the need to apply high-throughput in vivo screens for CNS drug discovery, necessitate novel efficient experimental models for nicotine research. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly emerging as an excellent organism for studying drug abuse, neuropharmacology and toxicology and have recently been applied to testing nicotine. Anxiolytic, rewarding and memory-modulating effects of acute nicotine treatment in zebrafish are consistently reported in the literature. However, while nicotine abuse is more relevant to long-term exposure models, little is known about chronic effects of nicotine on zebrafish behavior. In the present study, chronic 4-day exposure to 1-2mg/L nicotine mildly increased adult zebrafish shoaling but did not alter baseline cortisol levels. We also found that chronic exposure to nicotine evokes robust anxiogenic behavioral responses in zebrafish tested in the novel tank test paradigm. Generally paralleling clinical and rodent data on anxiogenic effects of chronic nicotine, our study supports the developing utility of zebrafish for nicotine research.
Insights
Chronic nicotine exposure in zebrafish causes anxiety-like behaviors and mild shoaling changes. This study highlights zebrafish as a valuable model for understanding nicotine
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Pharmacology
- Behavioral Biology
Background:
- Nicotine is a widely abused legal drug with poorly understood central nervous system (CNS) actions.
- Rodent and human studies extensively investigate nicotine, but novel models are needed for high-throughput CNS drug discovery.
- Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are emerging as a powerful model for neuropharmacology and toxicology research.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the chronic effects of nicotine on zebrafish behavior.
- To determine if chronic nicotine exposure alters anxiety-like behaviors and cortisol levels in adult zebrafish.
- To support the utility of zebrafish as a model for nicotine research.
Main Methods:
- Adult zebrafish were exposed to 1-2 mg/L nicotine for 4 days.
- Behavioral responses were assessed using the novel tank test paradigm.
- Baseline cortisol levels were measured.
Main Results:
- Chronic nicotine exposure mildly increased adult zebrafish shoaling behavior.
- No significant alteration in baseline cortisol levels was observed.
- Nicotine-induced chronic exposure evoked robust anxiogenic behavioral responses in the novel tank test.
Conclusions:
- Chronic nicotine exposure in zebrafish leads to anxiogenic effects, mirroring findings in clinical and rodent studies.
- Zebrafish shoaling behavior is mildly affected by chronic nicotine.
- The study reinforces the value of zebrafish for investigating the long-term behavioral impacts of nicotine.
