Collective Emotional Contagion in Zebrafish

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ethology
• Comparative Psychology

Background:

• Emotional contagion is a fundamental social process observed across species.
• Traditionally, it was thought to be limited to mammals and birds.
• Recent research suggests its presence in simpler organisms.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate emotional contagion in zebrafish, a model organism for preclinical studies.
• To determine if pharmacological modulation of anxiety in one zebrafish affects its group mates.
• To explore the directionality of emotional state transmission in fish.

Main Methods:

• Pharmacological administration of Citalopram to modulate anxiety in individual zebrafish.
• Observation and tracking of individual and social behaviors in groups of zebrafish.
• Transfer entropy analysis to assess causal interactions and directionality of contagion.

Main Results:

• Citalopram administration reduced anxiety behaviors (geotaxis) in the treated zebrafish.
• The reduced anxiety phenotype generalized to untreated conspecifics within the group.
• Emotional contagion was found to be directional, with the treated fish influencing others.

Conclusions:

• Emotional contagion is present and directional in zebrafish.
• This finding supports the biological preservation of emotional contagion in simpler organisms.
• Zebrafish serve as a valuable model for studying social behavior and emotional contagion in preclinical research.