Challenges to understand neural mechanism regulating spatial learning in zebrafish

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K14779
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Animal physiology/Animal behavior
• Research Institution: National Institute of Genetics
• Principal Investigator: Tanabe Hideyuki 国立遺伝学研究所, 遺伝形質研究系, 特任研究員 (00623977)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: ゼブラフィッシュ / 学習 / 空間学習

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The hippocampus is an important brain part for spatial learning, however, how the hippocampus interacts with other brain regions in the learning process is not well understood. Here, I tried to identify the regions that are activated during the learning process in zebrafish. Zebrafish, a good model vertebrate has a very small brain (several mm), and is suitable to study the neural mechanism in the whole brain level. Unfortunately, the experimental systems for spatial learning were not well established in zebrafish research, so as a first step, I set up the behavior assay system to study the spatial learning in zebrafish.

Free Research Field

神経科学　動物行動

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

ゼブラフィッシュは遺伝学的手法に優れた小型魚類である。そのため、モデル脊椎動物として、発生学をはじめ、様々な研究分野に用いられてきた。学習・記憶の研究分野においても、その基本的なシステムを検討できると注目されているが、空間学習を検討する実験系は不十分であった。今回、空間学習の実験系を整備したことで、ゼブラフィッシュがこの分野の研究においてもモデル生物として優れていることを示すことができた。