A microfluidic device to study electrotaxis and dopaminergic system of zebrafish larvae

The zebrafish is a lower vertebrate model organism offering multiple applications for both fundamental and biomedical research into the nervous system from genes to behaviour. Investigation of zebrafish larvae's movement in response to various stimuli, which involves the dopaminergic system, is of interest in the field of sensory-motor integration. Nevertheless, the conventional methods of movement screening in Petri dishes and multi-well plates are mostly qualitative, uncontrollable, and inaccurate in terms of stimulus delivery and response analysis. We recently presented a microfluidic device built as a versatile platform for fluid flow stimulation and high speed time-lapse imaging of rheotaxis behaviour of zebrafish larvae. Here, we describe for the first time that this microfluidic device can also be used to test zebrafish larvae's sense of the electric field and electrotaxis in a systemic manner. We further show that electrotaxis is correlated with the dopamine signalling pathway in a time of day dependent manner and by selectively involving the D2-like dopamine receptors. The primary outcomes of this research opens avenues to study the molecular and physiological basis of electrotaxis, the effects of known agonist and antagonist compounds on the dopaminergic system, and the screen of novel pharmacological tools in the context of neurodegenerative disorders. We propose that this microfluidic device has broad application potential, including the investigation of complex stimuli, biological pathways, behaviors, and brain disorders.